


The Dragon Rider

by IAmAllYetNotAtAll



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF!Peter, Dragons, Here lies dragons, IronDad and SpiderSon, M/M, No Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Peter Parker Can Wield Mjolnir, Peter Parker-centric, Peter is still Spider-Man, Protective Peter Parker, Spideypool - Freeform, he also has dragons, yup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-01 05:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 57,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmAllYetNotAtAll/pseuds/IAmAllYetNotAtAll
Summary: At nine years old, Peter Parker finds his first dragon egg. Then there are more dragons and he still has to be Spider-Man and that's a lot, all of a sudden.The dragons need to migrate to new homes, but humans are not kind to the things they don't understand, even less the things they can't control. Apparently, Peter's meant to help with that, but... how?Eventual Spideypool, Peter's a dragon rider, Tony Stark is Dad(TM), and the world is not ready for dragons.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, well, well... Look what we have here.
> 
> So. Dragons. Inspired by; How To Train Your Dragon (so can't wait for Friday), Merlin (stole some dragon names and ideals), and Eragon (stole some dragon knowledge).
> 
> Pretty quick story progression, three or so chapters written out so far. Slow start though, be warned, but it will pick up speed.
> 
> MCU Peter compliant, but veers off after Homecoming. 
> 
> Also, my first attempt at writing in the present tense. There may be some accidental use of past participle, sorry about that! I'm trying to catch it as much as I can, taking this FP POV as a writing learning experience. Please enjoy :)

The egg is a midnight blue. When Peter, at nine years old, holds it up to the sky it practically disappears. It's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

A couple of years ago he moved in with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben; they're nice and take good care of him. He loves them a lot. He gets sad, sometimes, when he remembers his mom and dad. But Uncle Ben says they're in a better place, and he believes him.

They don't let him play outside after seven o'clock, leaving him only a couple of hours to play with his friends after school. Today, no one could make it outside and he's playing alone.

A couple blocks away, further than he's allowed to go, there's a park. When he gets there, he finds an old couple on a bench talking and a couple of younger kids playing on the slides; Peter goes to the pond. He puts his backpack beside him and pulls out a couple of toys.

His favourite is the Iron Man action figure. Peter has always loved Tony Stark. He's so smart! And now he's a _superhero_? He couldn't be any cooler. He wants to be like him when he grows up.

"Pew, pew!" The villain of his story is a large spider, a Halloween decoration Aunt May had let him keep as a toy because he showed interest in it. He likes spiders. She really, really, doesn't.

As the spider and Iron Man are fighting each other, a reflection of light catches his attention. He looks out into the pond and sees, a couple of feet away from him, something shining in the sunset. It's big, but he can't figure out what it is. He puts away his toys and rolls up his pants to his knees, Aunt May hates when he has grass stains on his knees, and she'd be mad if he comes home with wet pants on top of that.

He takes off his shoes and socks and waddles into the water to see what that mysterious light is. No one else is paying him any attention, there's no one to say ' _no_ '.

The egg is as big as his head. He has no idea what animal it could be from. He's read that Ostrich eggs are really big, but there are no wild Ostriches in New York.

"You're pretty," he says to the egg. "I'll take care of you, I promise."

He slips it into his bag and brings it home. Aunt May asks if he had a good time at the park and he nods happily. He doesn't show her the egg. They didn't want any pets; she would make him give it away.

Some instinct in him tells him this is a secret. A little voice at the back of his mind whispers to him.

_Protect her. Please._

He puts the egg in his closet and wraps it in several layers of clothing and sets it over a folded blanket. It's so beautiful he can hardly stop looking at it.

"I'll protect you. I promise."

Peter does.

When he's alone at home, he pulls the egg out of his closet and holds it to his chest. They need warmth, don't they? At school, he checks out several animal books from the library and pours over them at home instead of watching television. This behaviour is not unusual for him and May and Ben don't question it.

A couple of months later, in the middle of the night, it hatches. Peter wakes after hearing an odd noise. He traces it back to his closet and carefully tugs out the clothes nest he built for the egg. There's a crack down the middle and he watches with anticipation, not noticing that it was nearly two in the morning.

He doesn't think about May or Ben hearing all of this. Luckily, they don't.

"Woah..." he whispers to himself.

The shell continues to come apart until he's left with a small reptile looking thing screeching loudly.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Are you hungry?"

Peter has no idea what this thing is. It has a long tail and two wings. Its skin is pink and it has a gummy mouth with a tongue poking out. Snakes use their tongues to smell, it must be in a similar family. Maybe?

It seems to listen and it quiets, its two big black eyes stare at him in anticipation as he leaves the room in search of food. He's quiet. He can hear Uncle Ben snoring in his bedroom. They keep chicken breast frozen in baggies in the freezer and he pulls one out. It looks like it should eat raw meat, but he has no idea how to go about defrosting it. He shrugs and takes the baggie back to his room. He pulls it open and holds the frozen meat out to the... thing.

"I'm going to call you Blue. Is that okay?"

Peter knows animals don't talk, despite the number of tv shows that say otherwise. But there's something in her eyes, something in that little nagging feeling at the back of his mind, that tells him she can hear him.

He knows biology well enough after so many books to know this is likely a female creature. His teachers and guardians call him smart, and sometimes he feels that way. But he's still calling her Blue based on the colour of her shell and knows it's childish and doesn't mind that at all.

A schoolmate has a dog called Spot; Peter wants his chance too.

She chirps in what may be happiness at his words. Then she shoots a ball of flame from her mouth towards the frozen chicken. It doesn't touch his fingers, but he drops it in panic and she gobbles it up in one mouthful. It clicks, all of a sudden.

This is a dragon.

There is a real-life fire-breathing dragon in his bedroom.

That's so... _cool_.

**OoOoO**

Blue grows quickly.

The good thing is, she learns to feed herself and he no longer has to worry about stealing food from the fridge or freezer.

Peter is smart, or so his guardians say. He knows they don't have a lot of money, he knows Aunt May and Uncle Ben work really hard to make ends meet. He doesn't want to make it any harder on them than he has to.

She goes out to hunt and returns home happily full off rodents and birds.

There are no words between them, but he learns to understand her and she in return.

"I know, I know," he flops on his bed at ten years old, right eye swelling, "I shouldn't fight, but... Ned's really nice and that other guy's a jerk. Aunt May's gonna be so mad."

Blue lays next to him on the bed, resting her head on his stomach and watching him with what he once thought were black eyes but were actually a dark blue. It matches her shell, the remnants of which still remain in his closet. He would never forget holding that shell in his hands for the first time.

She growls.

"Don't go setting anyone on fire. I'm fine. I'll heal."

She's bigger than most dogs, at this point. She takes up half the bed. Peter doesn't mind.

Her flesh is no longer pink; she's grown into her black scales. Currently, there are no recorded sightings of dragons. She's unique. He has no intentions of letting anyone else find out about her.

It's a miracle that his guardians haven't discovered her yet, but they work together to keep her a secret.

He pats her head and smiles, "Go get your dinner. I'll see you later."

She huffs, in her dragon way.

She steps off the bed on all fours and crawls through his open window. He's found out, in the past few months, that dragons, or at least Blue, can camouflage herself similarly to a chameleon. In the night sky, she's completely invisible. Otherwise, if Peter doesn't know she's there, he can't pinpoint her exact location due to the efficiency of her ability.

"Peter?! It's time for dinner!" His Aunt May calls out to him. He leaves his room and sits at the dinner table obediently.

At eleven years old, Blue has grown large enough to ride. Peter doesn't think of it first, because riding dragons doesn't seem quite right. Blue is a free creature, tied down to him only out of love and no obligation. At this time, he knows what it means to house such a unique creature; people don't think dragons exist, but he would never sell out Blue. Even for all the money in the world.

She crouches and after a few head shakes he understands. He climbs onto her back and wraps his arms around her neck. He bends his head down as she climbs out of his increasingly smaller window and then her wings spread out. Seeing her camouflage in such close proximity is mind-blowing. Her cells transform, take on the colours around her.

When looking at himself, he sees no change, but he knows that her body is obscuring his own. No one below can see him, much as they can't see her.

His arms spread wide and suddenly there's the world.

She's young and isn't used to weight on her back. She can't last long, but it's long enough for him.

"You're amazing, Blue. Thank you."

There are times, of course, where he thinks he should tell someone else. May, Ben, or Ned, but he doesn't. Her existence is not his secret to share.

When he's thirteen, the little voice at the back of his mind tells him, ' _Find him. You must find him before they do._ '

Peter doesn't know who 'they' are, but it scares him into action.

"Blue?" He asks, once school is out and both his guardians are still at work. "There's another egg somewhere. Can you get me there?"

He's found that the roof is better than his bedroom to accommodate her size and that's where he meets her. She crouches down and he climbs onto her back, ready to go as far as necessary to do what that voice has asked of him.

While wrapped around each other in the middle of the night, he'd asked her once if she knew that voice. The returning breath was enough for him to know she didn't.

The egg is silver when he finds it in the middle of the Arizona desert. It's smaller than Blue's had been and when it catches the light a certain way it shimmers through the colours of the rainbow.

He doesn't sleep that night. Dragons fly fast, very fast, but not enough to give him time to rest before heading off to school. He leaves the silver egg in his closet wrapped in clothes and blankets as he'd done for Blue. Ned asks if he's okay, he smiles and nods.

"I'm awesome!"

He takes the silver egg up to the roof so that Blue can breathe fire on it. It helps to keep it warm, what a dragon eggs needs, apparently. In a few months, the egg hatches into another pink creature he now knows is a dragon.

"Are there other eggs out there, can you tell?" He asks Blue one night.

She shakes her head. Whoever is guiding them gives them no more than they need.

"Are there other dragons? Your egg didn't just come from nowhere."

She huffs, frustrated with his questions. He leaves it there.

Peter is smart, so the teachers say. He loves science. He loves learning about chemistry and biology, takes an interest in engineering because that's what his hero does. Peter learns to classify and starts a notebook with details of his dragons.

There's only two, but that's more than one which means there are differences.

Blue can take to the sky like an invisible assassin. He calls her a stealth dragon based on the colour of her scales, her camouflage ability, and that her fire can come out a dark purple and is hotter than regular fire. It can strike like a bullet, small and precise if needed. She stops growing when the length between the tip of her tail to her nose spans twelve feet.

He names the second dragon Pyrite, based on a gem and finds it funny when he turns out to be a very calm and lazy dragon. This one won't be taking to the seven seas any time soon. He appears to stop growing at twelve inches; Blue hadn't stopped growing until she was done, and this one hasn't grown in two months. He assumes that's the end of it.

His scales are silver like his egg had been. He glimmers when the light hits just so. He can't camouflage as effectively, but he's small enough that he can hide in plain sight. He'll sometimes join him at school, laying in his backpack and sleeping soundly. Peter tries to remember to leave him at home, but can't deny he appreciates the company.

He thinks the two can talk to each other, somehow. He's gotten very good at understanding them without needing words.

As Blue is a stealth dragon, he classifies Pyrite as a healer.

This, he finds out, after a school field trip to Oscorp at fourteen years old.

Upon his return, he feels a bit... off, but can't quite place his finger on it. The small silver dragon curls into a ball on his stomach. Blue sits next to his bed, her eyes fixed on his face in case of danger.

There is an odd warmth where Pyrite sits that feels nice. When a headache comes in, the warmth flows up and it passes, and when nausea hits it quickly fades. May checks in on him repeatedly, Blue going camo and Pyrite hidden by the blanket. They blame it on the flu and they wait it out.

The discovery of superpowers takes time, mostly because he's sick for so long, but then everything falls into place.

He has two pet dragons and superpowers.

Blue is independent, mostly, and goes off who knows where to quench her hunger and thirst. Pyrite relies on him more, but he also doesn't require much. A bit of chicken and a dish of water and he's perfectly content.

It doesn't take long before he's designing and sewing his own superhero outfit. He calls himself Spider-Man and his dragons possibly approve of it. He can't get a proper reading on their opinions. Pyrite wraps around his waist and doesn't move, Blue huffs (nearly setting his bed on fire) and then trails after him while he's on patrol.

They're there for him when Uncle Ben gets killed.

While he lay bleeding before him, Pyrite slips out from under his hoodie and curls under Ben's shirt. He can't heal him though. Peter and the dragons don't know why.

They wrap around him in bed and give him the confidence to dress in the only nice suit he has for the funeral. He hates every moment of it; knows he should have done better. Blue presses her snout into his back and forces him out his bedroom.

May needs him most right now.

She lets him stay home from school for a few days; she takes as many days as she can away from work before being pulled back in to be able to afford rent.

He shoves some food in a backpack and climbs on Blue's back, Pyrite hidden beneath his sweater, and she takes him somewhere far away. Before his superpowers, he hadn't been able to ride her for too long before it started to hurt, but now his healing factor makes it a non-issue.

She follows her senses and that's when they find the nest.

In the middle of grief and uncertainty lies hope.

It's on an island out in the middle of the ocean. There's a waterfall in its center and Blue flies through it, soaking them. He shakes his hair and wipes his eyes clear, and when they open again he gasps.

Blue slows to a hover and they stare around. She's as shocked as he is. Pyrite pokes his head out of his neckline and chirps at the sight.

It's like something out of a movie. The rock walls go deep and there's an opening at the top where the sun shines through. There's another waterfall deep inside that cascades down with the purest looking water. It falls into a large pool that leads out to the ocean. The trees and plants growing inside this island are unfamiliar to him but are undoubtedly tropical.

The leaves are big, the flowers colourful. There are several berry bushes and the grass is lush and green. It smells wonderful, the air is cool, he never wants to leave.

Blue flies them down near a large rock by the water.

The rock moves. It unfurls large golden wings and it turns to stare at them. Peter steps back, for the first time in his life frightened by a dragon. This one is bigger than a house and would probably fill his entire school. He's never seen anything this size move before. This thing probably ate a T-Rex at some point. His imagination is always a little wild when his adrenaline pulses through him.

Blue crouches in front of him, lips pulling back in a fierce snarl. Pyrite dives back into his shirt.

Its tail hits the water and the ensuing wave washes over the other half of the alcove. Maybe that's how the fauna gets cared for, he doesn't know if rain can get in here.

She, he realizes, sits back on her haunches and stares down at them. Her scales are gold, but there are white ones too and Peter thinks she must be an older dragon. She doesn't seem interested in eating him so he waves.

"Hi."

Her head tilts. She blinks slowly.

" _Hello_."

It's an echo in his head and his mouth drops open. He knows that voice. He looks at Blue and she meets his gaze.

"I heard that. Did you hear that?"

She nods. She's no longer fearful and he takes courage from that.

"You, uh, you can talk?" He asks, and then politely adds, "I'm Peter."

" _Yes. My name is Aithusa_."

"I didn't know dragons could speak English."

She sort of sounded like Aunt May and had a New York accent. It didn't quite fit what he was seeing.

" _Magic, young Rider. You hear what you can understand._ "

"Oh. Okay." The Avengers had a literal God on their team, he could believe in a bit of language magic. "Why can't I talk to Blue or Pyrite?"

" _I am made of Old Magic and they are of New Magic._ "

"Sure." Peter accepts that response. He sits down and pulls the food out of his bag. Blue curls in beside him and Pyrite lays in his lap. He shares his sandwich with them and holds out a bite to Aithusa, who's watching them quietly. "Would you like some?"

He hears a laugh in his head and now he knows for certain that this magic is using his Aunt's voice. It's a recognizable laugh.

" _I'm alright, young Rider_." She carefully curls back into her ball, fully conscious of her size (Aunt May thinks Peter is really clumsy, but most of the things knocked over in his room is Blue's fault as she's learning her new size).

Peter has nowhere to be for several hours and this dragon doesn't seem in a hurry. He asks his questions slowly, enjoying watching this beautiful creature. At one point, he pulls out his notebook and sketches her quickly and starts noting things about her.

Her name is Aithusa, she's something near a hundred thousand years old, she's the oldest living dragon. She tells him there used to be thousands of them, and now they were few.

"How many dragons are left?" He asks, scared of the answer.

" _I don't know how many of my kind remain, exactly. Every few thousand years, we rise and move on from our current homes. We must find new resources, new land. During the last migration, we were fewer than the time before. The humans have spread themselves so far and wide, that there is hardly space for us anymore. I am normally a mountain-dwelling dragon, but I've come here to oversee the hatching of the two eggs_."

"And why was there a dragon egg in some random pond in Queens?"

" _I left her there for you_."

"Why?"

" _During the last migration, only three eggs were borne. A dragon can only hatch from its egg by the heat of the mother's fire or the will of the Dragon Lord. The mothers did not survive that difficult winter and we needed to wait for the birth of the next Dragon Lord. In the meantime, we hid them around the earth until that time could come. Unfortunately, several years ago, one of these eggs were found by a human_."

"And that's bad, I'm guessing?"

" _Very bad. She remains safe in her egg, for now, but we must find her before any harm comes to her. The time draws near where the humans will rediscover our existence; the dragons are already preparing to move on from their homes, and with the evolution of technology the humans will surely notice us_."

"But can't you camouflage, like Blue?"

The dragon shakes her head, " _No, if only we could. Some of us rely on brighter colours for survival, some live in the deserts or in the cold. My younger sister has remained at the bottom of the ocean for the past several thousand years, only traveling when the food grows scarce_."

"Huh." Peter writes all of that down. She tells him about the other dragons, her sister and the others. Their colours, their abilities, their defenses. Some have claws, some have fire, some have spiked tails. "But you still haven't explained why you gave me the eggs. If there's only two, then... but wait. You said they couldn't just hatch, right? That it had to be..."

" _You are the Dragon Lord, young Rider_."

He pauses. He flips a page in the book and writes that name down. He's never heard the term before, but there's not a lot out in the world about dragon's that wasn't from tv shows or movies or books.

"What does that mean?"

" _The Dragon Lord is a human born in every few generations who's duty is to help the dragons complete the migration safely. Many moons ago, after a particularly difficult one where we lost a lot of our kind due to man waging war, we gathered our magic and created this blood trait_."

"But what's the point? How am I supposed to help you do anything?"

He thinks about armies pulling out tanks and guns, shooting at these innocent creatures trying to live their lives, and has no idea how he's meant to be helpful. Even with the superpowers, he's only one person.

" _You can hatch our eggs. You can speak to us. You can speak in our defense to the other humans. Being a Dragon Lord does not come at random, you were chosen by magic for your kindness and bravery_."

"I... I'll do what I can," he tells her honestly.

He doesn't think there's a lot he can do for them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kuddos! Enjoy chapter 2!

Meeting Tony Stark is one of the highlights of his life, right next to the whole dragons and superpowers thing he has going on. Then he's being given a new suit and taken to Germany to fight and it's all amazing. Being the protector of dragons falls into the background for a little while. He considers telling Tony about Blue, because how cool would it be to fight with a _dragon_? But he doesn't.

He doesn't want her fighting, especially not a human's battle.

Things get a little crazy from there.

Suddenly he and Tony are sort of... well, they aren't friends. But he's his mentor, of sorts, and that is insanely amazing. Then he's fighting bad guys and making Spider-Man his priority. School still goes well, Ned is still his best friend. He meets other superheroes and that's awesome.

Then one day, at seventeen, he gets home from school and May tells him to check out the news. She's scared but is putting on a brave smile. She thinks Peter will be excited by what he sees.

He's really not.

He's terrified.

There's the first ever spotting of a dragon in Brazil. It's video footage off a teenager's phone, and then there are other posts of the same thing. The videos stop as it flies off over the ocean, too far for them to see it any longer. It's a large dragon, not as big as Aithusa but certainly larger than any regular bird, and guessing from its shape, more similar to Pyrite's than Blue's or Aithusa's, he's thinking it's a male dragon.

Most media outlets are in full denial; it's photoshop, it's a bird, it's video editing. But in a world where superheroes are commonplace, there are those who believe it's true.

Peter takes to the internet. There's nothing to say that this dragon was caught, but he knows the people that would have captured it wouldn't be spreading that information either. He slips on his suit's mask and asks his AI. He considers asking Ned to hack into some things for him, but he doesn't want to explain himself or risk him going to jail.

Hacking the spider suit is one thing, but government data is a whole other ball game. One with consequences that aren't a slap on the wrist.

"Karen, can we keep this exchange between the two of us?"

"There is a list of things that if asked about, must be immediately reported to Mr. Stark. If this doesn't fall on that list, I can certainly keep this private."

"What's the list?"

"I cannot disclose that information."

"Of course," he sighs. He thinks. "Okay, so let's say, hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to get some top secret information about something, would you be able to get that for me?"

"Hypothetically speaking, no, I do not have hacking capabilities. This is a better request left with Friday."

He doesn't know if she actually understands the concept of a hypothetical question, that it should allow them to go around Tony's list of things he's not allowed to ask. He's crossing his fingers that she's not sending him off a message. Now he's curious what that list entails.

"Alright, thanks, Karen."

The next day, the news is still talking about the sighting. He sends a text to Tony to ask if he can come by to work on something for the suit. They text now. It's awesome.

He gets an affirmative and swings over to save time. It's a solid excuse; Tony doesn't want him going into the trash or pawn shops to get stuff and has insisted, repeatedly, that he can take whatever he wants out of the Tower. That came after a defective, experimental, webshooter incident that left him with a nasty broken nose and a solid round of third-degree questioning. Remembering Tony's face as he told him he'd scrapped some parts from an old toaster was priceless.

Friday lets him into the building through one of the top-most windows and he takes the elevator down to the lab.

Tony had said he wouldn't be home until later and to go on ahead without him. It's nice to be shown that kind of trust by someone who's known for having trust issues.

He drops his bag on the floor next to his work station and sits down heavily.

"Friday? I have a hypothetical question for you. So, if I were, hypothetically speaking, going to ask you to get some secret information for me, that may require hacking, would you be able to do that without letting Mr. Stark know? All hypothetical, of course."

"In theory, you could ask me to hack into something without me needing to alert the Boss, so long as it's not on the list of banned subjects."

Although he'd come all this way to ask, he'd been pretty certain he'd be denied.

"Really? I can do that?"

"Yes, Peter."

If she has independent thoughts, she's definitely laughing at him. He's glad she's an AI.

"Um, okay. I imagine you can't tell me that list of things I'm not allowed to ask about, right?"

"That's confidential."

"I figured. Okay, well, let's give this a shot then. I don't know who needs to be hacked, specifically, but I want to know what happened to that dragon spotted in Brazil. Has anyone caught it? Have there been sightings that haven't gone public? Anything along those lines."

"I will look into this for you, Peter. Give me two minutes."

"Yes!" He claps his hands once.

His phone rings a minute later and he sees that Tony's calling him. He picks it up with a cheery, "Hi!"

"Nope," Tony says as introduction, "No. Don't get yourself involved in this dragon nonsense, do you understand me?"

"What?" He looks up at the ceiling, "Traitor!"

"I had a feeling my nerdy intern might start asking about it, had her inform me if you did. Leave this to the grownups. Got it?"

"So... you believe it was really a dragon?"

Tony huffs. He's probably been pulled out of a meeting to make this call; Peter's learned not to think about that too much or the guilt sets in.

"I believe nothing and neither do you."

"So, this list of things I'm not allowed to talk about includes dragons now?"

"It's an extensive list."

"But let me get this right. You don't mind me asking Friday to hack something, so long as it's not about dragons? That's a thing I'm allowed to do?"

"I'm starting to reconsider these accesses I gave you."

"I didn't even know I _had_ this kind of access!"

"That's for the best, apparently. Alright, I'm hanging up, but if I hear you talking about dragons again there will be words."

"Oooh, scary," Peter teases.

Tony hangs up on him. As he does, a hologram appears from the computer set into his work table. There's very obviously confidential information and he scrolls through it cautiously.

"Thought you weren't allowed to get me this?" It's from the US Army, all the data gathered about this creature sighting. They don't call it what it is; they seem almost scared to name it properly.

"The Boss only said to inform him should you ask about this particular subject. He has yet to make limitations on what you may ask of me concerning it."

"You're amazing, Friday. Sorry I called you a traitor. You're the best bro ever and I love you."

"Thank you, Peter."

He sighs a breath of relief when he realizes they have nothing. No one has anything. That dragon is still safe. For now.

"If anything comes up about this, uh, creature or anything like it, can you let me know? Any other sightings or if they catch one, anything like that?"

"Request initiated."

"Thanks, Friday. And if it's any consolation, it's not about getting into trouble. I just want to make sure he doesn't get hurt."

"I see."

Friday is designed to take orders; she doesn't question his words. Karen would have.

He doesn't waste any more time at the Tower. Tony knew why he'd gone there, there was no sense pretending.

It's a Thursday and he still has to go to school the next day, but that's not his current priority.

It'd been three years since Aithusa had told him about the dragons waking and migrating and about him being some sort of Dragon Lord. He hadn't forgotten about it, exactly, but it had grown to be less pressing than everything else going on in his life. The dragons didn't know where this last egg was, there was nothing on any form of media about it, and he hadn't made any headway in finding it.

And now, maybe the dragons were waking up. Moving slowly to their new homes.

Aunt May is at home and he has to make up some excuses. He claims a headache and an early night in. It's eight pm; he hopes he has enough time. He shoves some pillows under his blankets in the guise of a human body and grabs a bag. He sneaks in two water bottles and some snacks, the homework he hadn't completed yet, and a compass. Blue is great at directions, but just in case.

Pyrite climbs into the bag right before he zips it shut. He leaves it open an inch so that he can breathe.

He gets out of the apartment through the window, closing it softly behind him, and makes it up to the roof. Blue is waiting for him.

"Can you make a long flight? We need to go find this other dragon."

She nods excitedly. She's ready for this.

It's already cold at night, let alone flying in the sky on a dragon's back, and he's wearing a thick sweater with a scarf under it to shield his face. He has over-sized pink-rimmed sunglasses to protect his eyes. Sometimes he wonders about wearing the mask, but he doesn't want to risk anyone associating Spider-Man to a dragon. He doesn't need Tony making that connection either.

He climbs onto her back, "Alright, last they saw him he was flying north out of Brazil, right next to French Guiana. If he's going straight north, he'll fly to the east of the Caribbean islands. There've been no further sightings, so I'm guessing he may have landed somewhere. Let's head that way and see if you can sense him."

She'd been able to find Pyrite's egg and the nest easily enough. He was hoping that if they got close to this other dragon that she'd be able to sense him.

Blue takes off, camouflage hardly needed as the black of her scales match the sky so perfectly. They're out of New York in no time and then they're flying over the Atlantic Ocean. It's nearly two hours later, and his legs are growing sore but not as bad with his healing working on it as quickly as it's affecting him, and Blue finds what they're looking for. She angles her body with purpose and Peter sees an island growing nearer.

Peter doesn't know if this island is on a map, or if old dragon magic makes it invisible to humans. The island has a volcano on it and Peter's hands prickle with fear as Blue approaches it directly. She slows and lands delicately on its edge. His arms hold her more tightly.

"Um, do we have to be up here? That's lava. Legit lava. I do not want to die by volcano."

Blue huffs; she's offended that he thinks she'd let him die. Especially so stupidly.

The edge is three feet wide and he cautiously slips off her back at her prompting. He kneels, too scared to be on only his two feet for support. The lava is calm, there's no indication that this volcano will erupt soon, but it's still terrifying. He jumps off buildings for fun. He's never seen a volcano in person before.

He peers inside and is, oddly enough, not surprised to see that what could be mistaken for a lava-covered rock is actually a dragon with deep red scales.

"Hello?" He calls out, hoping to get his attention. He's not going anywhere near him.

Dragons are fireproof, on the outside at least. Blue had eaten an on-fire marshmallow once and that had gone pretty badly. With scales that colour, this was the best place for him to hide.

He doesn't move.

"Hello?" He tries again, shouting as loudly as he could, "I'm Peter, and I'm this Dragon Lord person? I'm here to help you!" He pauses and then adds, "Or well, actually, now that I'm here this might be your new home. Is this your new home? We can go if you're all set."

His wings unfurl and he lifts his head out of the lava. He blinks at him, once, twice. This one might be too young to talk to him. Aithusa had mentioned a difference between Old and New Magic, which came down to before and after they created the Dragon Lord blood trait using their magic. There weren't a lot of dragons remaining that could remember a time before the Dragon Lords, so he's not surprised this one can't communicate with him.

He waves, "Hi! I can't understand you, New Magic and all that, but just um, move your head like this," he nods, "if you'd like us to help you get somewhere safe. Or like this," he shakes his head, "if we interrupted your nap and you want us to leave."

Peter has seen dragons look annoyed before, Blue's been around for a lot of his life at this point, but this one has her beat big time.

He flies out of the lava pool, the movement of his wings creating a strong wind that sloshes the lava, and he fights to keep his balance even while on his hands and knees. Blue places her face below his chest to keep him from falling headfirst into the pit.

The dragon gracefully sits on the volcano's edge and stares at them. 

Blue makes a sound, a low growl, and the way they're looking at each other has him believing they're talking to each other. Probably calling him an idiot. Jerks.

She gets the message across and the big dragon nods his head.

"Alright then, you're with us. We can take you to the nest and you can stay there until we find a place for you. Right now, it's not really safe to be flying around. With cameras and satellites, it'll be nearly impossible to go unnoticed."

Peter hopes he understands at least a little bit.

"Before we head off though, a bit of food and water is required. Let's get away from this thing that can kill me and go down to the beach."

Blue picks him up under the arms with her own and carries him down. The red dragon floats down after them. He pulls a water bottle from his bag and chows down on a granola bar. Blue hovers over the water and catches a couple of fish for herself.

They leave shortly after they've all freshened up. They have a few more hours of flying ahead of them and Peter hopes to get home early enough for some sleep.

They're flying beside the red dragon which is apparently the wrong thing to do.

His senses tingle and the other dragon is hit in the chest by... something. Possibly a bullet, but he doesn't appear injured. He veers to the side and Peter can see his chest, the scales are a paler red, almost pink, and he thinks he'd see blood if there was any. The moon is bright enough in the middle of the ocean and Peter peers over Blue's shoulder to look down.

It's a fucking US Navy boat.

He guides Blue closer to the red dragon, knowing they can't be seen thanks to her camouflage.

"Just fly around, I'm going to take care of this."

Blue dips down. It's a big boat and there are men stationed across it with various weapons poised for shooting. He tightens the scarf over his face. He has her float on the side of the ship that is emptiest and he stealthily climbs aboard. He instructs her not to do anything; he doesn't want them knowing there's another dragon.

There's no easy or humane way of knocking people out, and he doesn't have his Spider suit which has a few tazers and his webbing to tie people up with. He comes up with a plan and it's simple yet effective.

He'd venture a guess at there being twenty people on this ship. They're all spread out, shouting orders at each other. The red dragon is flying above the ship in circles, like a vulture over its prey.

A great thing about boats, he realizes, is that they have a lot of rope. None of the people are looking at each other and he takes them out one by one. He puts his hand over their mouth and drags them into one of the rooms on the ship. He ties them up with rope and moves on to the next. They're shouting, but the ocean is loud and so are those still on deck.

By the time they start realizing something's wrong, there's only a handful of them left. He ties them all up together, takes their weapons, and shoves them in one of the other rooms.

Blue lands on the deck and so does the red dragon. Peter looks over the weapons.

They're mostly tranquilizers; they're going for capture, not kill. He walks over to the other dragon and inspects his chest, he leans back to allow it. There's no mark anywhere to indicate he's been hit. He frowns at the oddness of it, those are heavy duty tranqs, but so long as the dragon's okay he won't complain.

"Let's get going, quickly. You fly as high as you can, the red sticks out too much, even in the dark. Blue, try to fly under him. Hopefully, you can cover enough that no one else will spot him."

She nods and he climbs on her back once more. They take off towards the nest.

How were they supposed to complete the migration at this rate? The idea of the government getting their hands on one of them makes him sick. He hopes that the third egg is still alive and waiting to be hatched.

They reach the nest with no further issues; Peter's careful to look at the ocean for more boats but there aren't any. Aithusa is there to greet them. She eyes the newcomer with what might be joy.

"Can you tell me his name?" He asks her. It's past midnight, his body is sore and he's growing tired, but another dragon is safe and he's happy.

" _He was named Evangelico by the last Dragon Lord_."

"You don't name yourselves?"

" _We do not use names in the human sense. We have our own tongue that does not require it_."

"Oh, I see. Well, it's nice to meet you Evangelico. My name's Peter if you didn't catch that earlier. This is the nest. So far only Aithusa lives here, but if we come across any other stranded dragons we'll send them this way. I'm trying to figure something out, but it's a work in progress for now."

Evangelico spreads his wings, beats them once, and then lands in the water. He curls into a ball and floats there.

" _He was very attached to the previous Dragon Lord_ ," Aithusa says as an explanation.

"Gotcha." He eats and drinks some more, let's Blue dip into the water to wash herself of sweat. This is more flying than she's used to. He turns to Aithusa and asks, "I think Evangelico got hit by something while we were flying, something that should have put him to sleep, but so far he's been alright. Can you keep an eye on him, just in case?"

Her head tilts and her big eyes blink.

" _I see. Young Rider, we can't be injured by most man-made weapons. There are certain exceptions, of course, but generally, they can do us no harm_."

The tranquilizer dart must have uselessly bounced off his chest and fallen into the ocean. Peter's grateful for it, but it leaves him confused. "That makes sense, but then why don't you just... take your place? If humans are no match for you just..." He moves his hand as if swatting away a fly.

" _We have no intention of waging war against them. We all know they wouldn't stop until they had destroyed themselves_."

"I suppose."

" _And they can still weaken us, take our food and water, and capture us. Maybe their arrows cannot pierce our skin, but the rest can be as deadly_." At Peter's expression, she says kindly, " _We are not meant to co-exist, us dragons and you humans. How many of your creatures have become extinct due to selfishness and carelessness? We must protect ourselves, even if that means hiding and running_."

"It sucks." Blue bumps her head against his arm and makes a happy noise. He laughs, "Alright, alright, no more angst. We should get going before you fall asleep on me."

" _Good night, young Rider_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment, I always love hearing your thoughts :)
> 
> All the love <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Dr. Strange in the ho-ouse.
> 
> Carfentanil = Elephant tranquilizer

Friday is literally best bro, Peter decides.

She's programmed to do Tony's bidding, he knows that much at least, but he's not sure what he must have done for her to apparently like him. He can't figure out why she would be getting him this information otherwise. It's obviously not what Tony would want, and she's clearly purposely finding loopholes in his words, but he's not going to complain.

_The bird, pictured below, is approximately twenty feet in length and is presumed to weigh around 10,000 pounds. Image is unclear and its plumage is difficult to see. Its coat is red with a paler underbelly. A 7mg shot of carfentanil was ineffective in stopping its flight._

_There was an attack on the U.S.S Honor at approximately 23:45 on 03/17/2018, at the same time as the sighting. The assailant immobilized all 19 agents on board. There were no signs of theft or attempts to breach the computers on board, and no physical harm came to any of the agents._

_Motive: unknown._

_Creature: unknown._

Friday is also brilliant; because of course she would be, being a creation of Tony Stark's, and she knows exactly what to send his way.

That exert came from the official report from the U.S.S Honor, the ship that had attacked Evangelico, apparently. There's more following that, talking about the attack and the questions behind it. No one says the word dragon and they seem hesitant to link the two events together. It doesn't make sense to them.

Peter's thankful for their small mindedness.

She communicates to him via text; she has her own phone number, blocked to anyone but those with access to her. He sends her a message, a couple of weeks later, hoping that her loyalty goes further.

From: Peter Parker  
_Have you kept these communications just between us?_

From: F.R.I.D.A.Y  
Yes, Peter.

From: Peter Parker  
_I have another question. Hypothetically speaking. I'm wondering if you can search for a big pink egg? It may have been in Japan and some people there might have it._

From: F.R.I.D.A.Y  
_I will conduct a search. Due to their security, it will take me some time. I will notify you once I have the information._

From: Peter Parker  
_Thanks, Friday!_

He goes about being Spider-Man, goes to the Tower to train and hang out. Tony tells him off about the dragon another time, just to reinforce the idea, and then it never comes up again. People are starting to forget it happened. No one's seen anything else, there's nothing of interest.

A few weeks later Friday sends him a response. She gives him the company's name, it's in Japanese Hiragana. He doesn't ask for an address. There's a detailed list of things they've done to the egg and it takes effort not to snap his phone in half. Hot, cold, x-rays, electroconvulsive shocks, and attempts to draw blood (the needle won't pierce the egg, no matter how thin). They've tried to force it open. He chooses not to read how.

They think it might be a dinosaur or a descendant of sorts. The egg is hard, not typical to reptiles, and its bright colour suggests it's not a species of fish. It's difficult to picture the colours as being good evolutionary-wise for any kind of animal, but he knows they don't have a lot of natural prey, either.

The next concern is... how to get to Japan.

He pulls up Google Maps (on the school computer because he doesn't want Friday to connect the dots) and he has no idea how to go about it. He doesn't want to send either Blue or Pyrite all the way to Japan on their own. Blue could make it, he's certain, and even undetected, but it's what she'll find that's the problem. If they have the egg in some high-tech facility, she'd never make it in and he can't risk her getting hurt.

It's two months later, in the middle of summer, that the answer comes to him in the form of a man in a cape.

They had one mission together, stopping a magical attack on the sanctuary itself, and Peter goes there to find him.

Dr. Stephen Strange is probably one of the coolest people in the world. He has a magic cloak and can do literal magic. He's an actual sorcerer and he's all suave and calm and has great facial hair. He has no reason to help Peter, really, but he's willing to beg.

He knocks loudly and waits patiently for the door to be opened.

It does, but no one greets him. He steps inside and looks around at all the expensive looking fancy things, like vases and paintings. Tony's rich and fancy, but he likes designer suits and new screwdrivers.

"Hello?" He calls out once.

Stephen floats into the room from a door on the second floor and stops at the top of the staircase. He crosses his arms and stares at him.

"Hi, Dr. Strange!"

He sighs, giving in to his cheer, "Hello, Peter." He waves him up and Peter's quick to follow him.

He leads them to a sitting room where Stephen takes a seat and gestures for him to sit across from him.

It's a big cushiony red chair and he happily sinks into it. Pyrite, curled around his chest beneath his shirt, is practically purring with joy. He likes the magic of the building.

"What did you need, Peter?" Stephen asks him pointedly, not giving him a chance to waste time on small talk.

"I, uh, need your help with something. Last time we met, you said you know stuff about all these other dimensions and nothing seems to go on without you knowing about it, I mean, you knew I was Spider-Man, and so I think maybe you know this thing I want to talk about, but I'm not super sure without actually-"

"Don't injure yourself, Peter. Yes, I know about the dragons."

He stills. Then he smiles, "Awesome! Why didn't you say anything?"

"The dragons are none of my concern, as other dimensions are none of yours."

"Right." Peter's not sure how anyone can be that uninterested in dragons, of all things, but Stephen has a flying cloak, so that might make other things less exciting.

"Why are you here?"

"Can't you figure it out with your magic?"

"I'm not a mind reader, Peter," Stephen says. Peter knows that look; he's trying not to roll his eyes.

"I came here to ask for a portal. I need to get to Japan and I can't afford a plane ticket and I don't have the time either to go off for days on end without having to explain myself to my Aunt May."

"What's in Japan?"

"The last dragon egg. It's in some sort of research lab."

"I see. And why would I do this for you?"

His heart sinks, but he trudges on, "Because it's the right thing to do! I know this isn't your responsibility, it's mine, but I need to save that egg and I can't get there on my own."

"You and Stark seemed cozy."

"He doesn't know about... all that."

"That you're the new Dragon Lord and it's your duty to protect the creatures he would kill if he came across them?"

"I... he wouldn't. And that's not - why do you know about that? I understand the dragons, but..."

"Magic calls to magic," Stephen explains, arm gesturing towards the books on the shelf on the other side of the room. "Those kinds of stories are written and left for the next generations to read and understand."

"Then why wouldn't you guys be protecting the dragons? With your magic-"

"They didn't choose us; they chose to make their own protector. I may fight for good, Peter, but that doesn't mean all sorcerers do."

"Right, I get that, but... It's so hard for them right now. They need to find new homes but with technology the way it is they can't migrate safely, and with this egg in human hands it's... I don't know what to do for them, but if I can save this egg than at least I've done something. Will you please help me?"

Stephen stays quiet for a long while. Peter fidgets and waits. He doesn't like the way Stephen is looking at him like he's trying to read his thoughts even though he'd just said he couldn't.

He lifts up three fingers and says, "Three. You get three portals from me, total. I will portal you to Japan, I will portal you back home, and then you'll get to keep one in reserve."

Peter hadn't even thought about the coming home part. He's happy Stephen's a proper adult who thinks ahead. The idea of one spare portal, to send him somewhere but not to bring him back, is a little scary. It's more than he'd asked for, and he isn't about to turn it down.

"That's... That's amazing. Thank you so much, Dr. Strange!"

They make arrangements for his portal out one week later.

He finds the approximate location of the company holding his egg hostage by translating the Hiragana to English, it's near some mountain range in Hokkaido and that's where Stephen will send him. He hopes they'll be near enough that Blue will sense the egg. Pyrite slips into his backpack as he always does. He puts some food and water in there, not knowing how long it'll take, and a few things that may be of use. Stephen gives him a feather and says to set it on fire when he's ready to be brought home.

Hokkaido is fourteen hours ahead from his current timezone and he plans to be there in the middle of the night to utilize Blue's abilities. He tells Aunt May that he'll be spending the day with Ned and tells Ned to cover for him, pretending that it's Spider-Man business.

He makes sure to leave his phone and the suit at home. He wouldn't know where to begin explaining why he's in Japan to Tony.

At 10 am sharp, he knocks on the sanctuary door with Blue camouflaged behind him.

Stephen opens a portal for them and suddenly they're in Hokkaido, Japan where the sky is dark.

The egg is hidden in a secret base dug into the side of a mountain and he's scared. Not for himself, he's never been good at self-preservation, but he's bringing his two dragons into this place that would be more than happy to experiment on them for the sake of science. That's not the kind of science he likes.

The main entrance is sealed in rock and he strains his ears to hear the electrical current that leads him to the keypad hidden beneath a fake rock cover. He's prepared for this.

He presses his ear to the wall to make sure there are no nearby steps, and deeming the cost clear, takes a homemade jammer out of his bag. Speaking hypothetically, of course, he'd asked Natasha a couple days back if she knew how to get through a door with a code or handprint. Just in case.

She hadn't even asked why he wanted to know and explained several different methods. A keypad is easier than a fingerprint scanner; he's not in the mood to chop off someone's body part.

He plugs it in and goes about activating the code without triggering an alarm. The doorway opens quietly and he slips inside with Blue behind him. He asks her to stay outside, but she gives him a look and here she is. She's stealthier than he is by a mile and can't be seen at least.

It's enormous inside the obviously evil lair (he's seen a movie or two in his time). He keeps Blue behind him and Pyrite sticks his face out of his sweater, his nose pointing in a specific direction. He follows his snout, being as quiet as possible.

Sound vibrates around him, people's voices and the whir of technology. When he hears people approach he jumps to the ceiling, at least twelve feet high, and clings. He's wearing all black in the off chance they catch him out of the corner of their eye; non-descript black jeans and an old worn out black hoodie from a used clothing store. He couldn't find cheap black shoes and is in a pair of dress socks. He prefers it anyway.

People don't tend to notice things that aren't moving and they keep walking.

Blue presses herself against the wall and keeps out of their path.

Pyrite continues to guide them, further and further into the building. Peter's cautious of cameras and doesn't let them catch his face. He won't risk deactivating them; it's less likely they'll notice him passing than if a bunch of cameras suddenly go dark. He sticks to the walls and crawls on the ceiling if he can. He doesn't want them knowing he can do that at all, even if it could be explained away with non-Spider-Man things.

The scientists are asleep. They must be, for how few people are wandering around. It's too big a place for just one egg and he doesn't really want to know what else is going on.

They end up in front of a double set of metal doors. He listens and can hear two heartbeats. No. Three. One is slow, too slow to be human, and echoes as if through water. There's his egg.

Wrapped around his right arm is a set of Widow Bites. They were older ones that Tony was keeping in storage to make use of their parts. He'd brought them home to reconstruct them and now they would serve their purpose. Tazers are not uncommon and so long as they don't actually see what hit them, he'll be fine.

He just has to be quick.

Peter tightens the scarf around his face, a means to protect his identity, and quietly opens the door. He doesn't want to startle whoever is in the room.

Two people in lab coats are sitting at a desk, chatting with coffee between them. They're both Japanese and he doesn't understand a word they're saying. They don't hear him. He closes the door gently and aims. Two shots later, the two scientists are falling out of their chairs. He hurries to lay them on the floor, hoping they hadn't hit their heads.

Blue, still camouflaged, hurries to the glass container in the middle of the room. In a weird fluid, water perhaps, but it's not quite the right colour, is floating a pink dragon egg connected to several wires. Aithusa had told him about this particular egg. She has a unique colouring, a Japanese dragon that can blend into the cherry blossom trees.

Aithusa told him that many years ago, this kind of dragon would hide in the trees and once they moved on, the humans would realize the tree had never bloomed. The supposed blossoms were the dragon's coat, deceiving and beautiful. There are small green spots on the egg. Blue sniffs at the case and presses her head against it.

"Shh, Blue, it's okay. We'll get her out of there."

He moves the two people and settles in front of the console. There are various screens, monitoring the egg's temperature and heart rate, and a lot of buttons. He has no idea what to do.

Blue whines in distress. Peter understands, he doesn't like the sight of that trapped egg any more than she does.

"Okay..." He mumbles to himself.

He looks around the room. There are a bunch of work stations, probably different tests they have or will perform on the egg. Three cameras are in the room, two focused on the glass case.

"We're going to do this quick, alright?"

Blue meets his eyes and nods. To anyone looking at the room through one of those cameras, he'd look like he's talking to himself. He'd learned to find the haziness around her movements and was getting better at finding her in a room, especially if she's moving.

He walks over to the case and takes aim. Two more shots. The electrical current in the Widow Bites would destabilize the cameras just long enough for this to work.

Peter pulls his arm back and punches through the glass, ignoring the pain and blood. The liquid pours over him and he ignores it to catch the falling egg. He detaches the monitors and pulls it close to his chest. An alarm blares instantly, but no one would arrive in time.

From his bag, he pulls out the feather and Blue quickly sets it aflame. In the spot where its ashes fall, invisible now to the broken cameras, a red portal appears. Without wasting a second he climbs through; Blue by his side, Pyrite in his backpack, and the egg in his arms.

On the other side of the portal, Peter falls to his knees and cries.

Stephen places a towel by his side and steps back to give him some space.

He holds the egg close to his chest, tears dripping onto the beautiful pink shell. Blue lays next to him and sets her head in his lap.

Saving her hadn't been particularly difficult, after figuring out a way across oceans and continents. He'd had the element of surprise, they'd had no way of knowing he was going to be there. How many years had they had that egg and no one in the world knew about it? His tears aren't caused by the fear that came from infiltrating a high-security facility run by the Japanese government.

Nor is it relief.

At this moment, all he feels is despair.

"Dr. Strange, how am I supposed to save these dragons? Where are they supposed to go? I don't know what to do."

He hears Stephen approach and he looks up into his apathetic expression. He wishes, for the first time so intensely that he thinks he's shaking with longing, that he could tell May, or Ned, or Tony. He wants someone to understand his pain, his hopelessness. Stephen protects dimensions, a few dragons mean nothing to him.

His tone is kind, at least, as he says, "You seem like a bright kid, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

He's smart, or so Tony says.

Peter doesn't think he'll ever be able to save the dragons.

He nods, "Thanks, Dr. Strange." He gently puts the egg down on the tiled floor and dries it off with the towel and then cleans off his arms. His right hand is mostly healed at this point and he ignores the spots of blood on his knuckles.

Stephen sighs and kneels beside him. Without a word, he's shakily using tweezers to pull out a couple bits of glass and then bandages him up. Peter doesn't comment on the shaking.

He thanks him again and then he's leaving with his dragons and the egg hidden in his backpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third egg, third chapter! Things start picking up in the next chappie :)
> 
> I hope you liked my Stephen representation; he seems like one of those characters that has enough going on in his own life that he'd leave Peter to it.
> 
> And yes, I stole the name Aithusa from Merlin :) And the concept of Dragon Lords, although the role is different in this story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chappie :)
> 
> I'm on a bit of a role with these.
> 
> Enter = IronDad and the Avengers!

Peter takes the egg to the nest. Right now, this is the only place safe enough.

She hatches into a pink slimy creature and he's in love all over again.

Over the next two years, she grows and grows. Her scales come in pink and he leaves her at the nest permanently. Her name is Mio, he chooses to stick to her Japanese roots, and she's far too colourful to be flying around.

He almost classifies her as a stealth dragon, like Blue, due to her ability to hide in nature so perfectly, but outside of her element, she's as stealthy as a pink dragon flying under a blue sky. When the spikes come in around her face and she spits out blue fire that burns hotter than any normal flame, he puts her under a new category; warrior.

Pyrite stays small and Blue continues knocking books off his desk.

Aithusa is content to know the eggs have all been hatched and doesn't seem concerned about the migration, at least, not as much as he is.

He thinks she might not understand human technology as much as she believes she does.

There are fights with the Vulture, and Scorpion, and Mysterio, and Rhino that he somehow manages to win. He fights with the Avengers on occasion, happy to see them all back together despite the tension. He opens up to Tony about his nightmares and fears of failure but can't bring himself to talk about what's most important.

"Just elope already!" He'd gotten over the excitement of Tony asking him to be part of his wedding party since he and Pepper had been planning their wedding for four years and weren't getting any closer to actually making it happen.

"I swear this is the last time. The venue is booked for next July, down payment and everything."

"That's what you said about January's wedding."

A villain going by the name of Ghost had ruined that particular attempt.

"You already have your suit and everything, and I know you've had your speech memorized since we announced W1's date. All you need to do is show up." They started numbering and abbreviating the failed wedding attempts after three. That stayed between them, though, since they agreed Pepper would probably not appreciate it.

Pepper approves of the eloping idea, it's Tony who insists on an official wedding ceremony.

"Whatever you say, Boss."

He's actually Tony's intern now, working with him on Stark tech and learning business from Pepper. He's given space and equipment for his personal projects, and anything not Spider-Man related he gives to SI to market, if possible. He's working on prosthetic limbs right now, which is a huge project that he loves.

In between being Spider-Man, taking care of dragons, and being Tony's intern, he's going to college, which is pretty awesome. He enjoys it, but mostly he's glad he managed to get a full scholarship.

Then there's Deadpool, which is... well.

"Spidey! Baby! Big fan of the tights and your work. Mostly the tights, to be perfectly honest. What say you to dinner with the merc with a mouth, huh? I promise to treat you like a Queen. The Dolly kind, probably, but a Queen none the less."

"Um..."

It's an experience.

Tony warns him off, much as he'd done with the dragons, but he's never been very good at listening. Most people know him as Peter Parker, Tony Stark's intern, or Peter Parker, that kid everyone hates because he hands his test in too quick. Or Peter Parker, nobody.

And those who know him as Spider-Man consider him a hero or a menace, and Deadpool clearly puts him in the former, but he isn't afraid to tell him off either. Or be blunt and flirty and his own weird kind of charming.

Also, in the two years since rescuing Mio's egg, Friday has only sent him a handful of reports.

The US Navy kept an eye out for another big bird-like creature for several months, a few comments here and there of false encounters, but it led nowhere.

That company in Japan had a couple of reports about the break-in. Friday doesn't send him any video files and he's too scared to ask for it. They have no information, no good pictures of his face, and they still refuse to call it a dragon's egg. He's okay with that.

Friday doesn't make the connection either, he assumes, and he's even more okay with that.

Then it all goes wrong because it always does.

He gets a message from Friday and his heart drops.

_Spotted in the West Sahara, near Morocco, is a large bird of unknown species heading north. Recent images suggest it has a yellow-beige plumage and is approximately 20 feet in length. Request submitted for the Avengers to be tasked with the locating and containment of this bird to be brought in to the Spanish government._

It's translated from Spanish to English for easier understanding. Spain was one of the countries that proposed the Accords, they have rights to order the Avengers. Morocco does too, but Spain was faster. All countries want this creature, although none of them will name it properly.

Friday has no way of knowing what this information has done to him. She's sent him similar things in the past, it's only words, but the world has slipped from under his feet and he doesn't know what to do.

Why can't he ever know what to do?

He's almost done his last class of the day when he gets the message. He drops everything and rushes out, finding a secluded spot and calling for Blue.

He thinks, in a way he hopes is loud enough for her to hear, " _Blue! Blue, please, I need you to come to me._ " He's only ever been able to speak to Aithusa in his mind, but he has no other way of even attempting to communicate with his dragon.

She appears before him, far too quickly for her to have traveled very far.

"Do you always come to school with me?"

She's not meant to. He wants her to be independent, but she's often tailing him, knowing he attracts trouble like a magnet. She never does anything, since he's forbidden her from exposing herself to protect him, but she's always watching. Just in case.

Blue huffs and he sighs.

He's thinking quickly.

"I need you to take me to the nest. Fly as fast as you can, don't hold back."

Pyrite climbs into his shirt and he leaves his bag behind. She takes him to the nest faster than she ever has before. She's panting. His heart is racing. He approaches Aithusa. He needs to fly over a good portion of the Atlantic ocean. Blue can't do that, not as fast as he needs her too.

"Can you fly me to Morocco? There's a dragon and I need to get there before the Avengers do."

Aithusa blinks, slow as always.

" _The... Avengers. Are they a threat? You speak highly of them._ "

"No and yes? They're superheroes, but they've been given orders and they don't know that you guys are good, so I have to stop them."

" _I will take you, young Rider._ "

The other dragons move to give her space. She's enormous, but her colouring is perfect for the desert and he hopes she'll be able to hide. He hates leaving Blue behind but he has no choice.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay here."

Blue and Pyrite curl up together, watching him with sad eyes as he gets ready to leave them.

One of his greatest accomplishments in the last couple of years is his riding outfit. He'd taken the time to design and make something that was more suitable for flying and secrecy than an old hoodie and scarf.

There's a helmet made of leather that covers his face, protecting his eyes and skin from the wind. For pants and shoes, he wears thick black leggings and combat boots. He's made himself a long-sleeved shirt from spandex similar to his spider suit for flexibility, but it's thicker, with a coat over it for warmth; it's layered with fallen scales from all the different dragons and shines beautifully in the light.

There's a mix of blue, silver, pink, gold, and red. Dragons drop scales like birds drop feathers. He finds them all over and eventually found a use for them. Not only were they colourful, but they were fireproof and retained heat.

He's a dragon rider and anyone facing him will know it.

Thanks to his ability to stick to things, he's able to climb onto Aithusa's back without embarrassing himself too much. He waves to Blue and Pyrite and then she's flying out of their nest.

She's _fast_.

After his little adventure with the Vulture on Homecoming night, he knows his superpowers somehow keep him alive at such high speeds. Normal people can't ride on the outside of a plane. Riding Aithusa is even faster. He presses his face into her scales and hopes his clothes will protect him however his powers can't.

She's much faster than any jet, but he doesn't know what kind of headstart the Avengers have on him.

She senses her fellow dragon from a greater distance than Blue could have, and helps Peter speak to him by playing messenger.

" _Tangier can see them approaching. He wants to outfly them._ "

Peter can only answer in his head and projects his thoughts for her to hear him, " _He can't. Stark jets are crazy powerful, he'll tire before that thing runs out of fuel and even if he's faster, they'll be tracking him. Tell him to try and hide._ "

In the distance, he spots a hint of sand. His eyesight is better than the regular person's and he knows they still have a little ways to go.

A long couple of minutes later she says, " _He's stubborn, but I have convinced him. There are not many places to hide in the desert; we normally bury ourselves in the sand. He's searching, but he's not finding anything. He's frightened._ "

" _I would be too._ " Peter's grip tightens and he adds, " _Don't tell him that, though. Let's just get there as soon as we can. Tell him to come our way._ "

Aithusa relays his message.

When the dragon comes into sight, they're nearing the cost of Morocco and Peter can also spot the jet flying behind him.

" _Tell him to land and not to attack them. If he plays nice, they might not try to hurt him._ "

The dragon hits the sand with purpose; the wind from his wings lifts the sand and he burrows under it. If they hadn't seen him do it, he'd be looked over as any other regular mound. The jet lands next. As they near, he can hear the sound of repulsors and distant voices.

There's a loud growl that echoes across the desert, louder than any dog or tiger and far more terrifying.

" _I'm not going to win in a fight against the Avengers, I can't waste my time trying to take them out. Can you raise the sand like he did? I can use that to get in the jet without anyone seeing me._ "

" _Yes, young Rider. Shield your eyes._ "

Peter hears it as a logical suggestion, but it turns out to be a warning.

They get near enough for him to make out their individual shapes. He hears Tony, his voice familiar and easier to latch onto.

"What the actual fuck is that thing?"

Aithusa would be impossible for them to miss.

Tony and Rhodey are in their suits, Clint is kneeling on top of the jet for height with an arrow aimed in their direction, and Natasha and Steve are standing outside its door with their own weapons at the ready.

"Shoot it, Clint!" He hears Tony order.

Aithusa veers right, Clint hesitates long enough in searching for the best place to strike, and then she's flying around them in a large circle. She drags her left wing across the sand and with the wind from her wings flapping, it rises and rises. She keeps moving, continues until they can hear the Avengers shouting blind directions at each other. The sand hits hard against his outfit and he hopes they're okay.

Even if they are trying to attack his dragons.

Tangier, the new dragon, gets uncovered by her miniature sandstorm and is told to fly away while they're distracted.

Peter can't see through the sand to know if he's complied, but after a moment he hears the beating of wings and hopes he's leaving. Aithusa gives him the nest's location as that's, still, the only place he knows is safe.

On the next circle around, he peers out from between his fingers and hops off the dragon to land on top of the jet. Clint is kneeling down with his face hidden in the crook of his elbow to protect his eyes.

Peter uses his hands to stick to the metal and edges himself forward to the center where he knows there's an emergency opening. He searches blindly for a moment until he finds the hidden button and presses it to open the hatch. He slips inside and closes it behind himself.

" _Aithusa, I'm inside. Keep them distracted until I'm done, but don't waste too much energy. It'll be a long flight back._ "

She acknowledges his words and he can hear the wind slowly dying outside as she stops her circling and lets the sand settle. There will be new dunes where none had been before. Looking out the front of the jet, he sees it quieting and Aithusa confirms that Tangier is gone.

He's over the ocean now, and the Avengers have a new priority.

Peter blocks out their voices and sets about his task.

He can't fight the Avengers, but he can stop them. He knows this jet, has taken some time to explore it and learn about it with Tony. He walks to the front and kneels next to the pilot's seat. The control system is linked to a motherboard beneath the front console and he pops off the cover to get to its insides.

There's a lot he could do from this point, but he doesn't plan on leaving them stranded in Morocco. All he needs is a bit of time, needs to do enough damage that Tony can't fix it in seconds.

Peter pulls out wires, changes their places. He unplugs the GPS and leaves that one hanging loosely. The jet will start, but it's navigation system won't and Friday will be delayed. He hopes that will be enough. He gently replaces the cover to keep them from realizing its been tampered with too quickly.

When he stands, a warning tingle through his body has him whirling around with his hands up ready to fight.

Natasha's there, face blank and gun pointed at his face.

His fear must translate to Aithusa; her responding growl is fearsome and makes the jet vibrate. Natasha doesn't flinch.

Aside from essentially betraying Tony in Germany, because Peter will defend him to the ends of the earth, he finds it hard not to have the utmost respect for her as a superhero and fighter.

He wishes he weren't on the other side of that gun right now. The amount of times she's kicked his ass in training is too many to count, in the triple digits at least, and he knows today won't be the outlier.

The jet tips and steadies; she shifts for balance but the gun doesn't move.

Peter tries to calm Aithusa in his mind while pretending not to be afraid.

"Who are you?" She asks.

She'll know his voice and he keeps quiet. His hands are up in the air in surrender and he cautiously brings them together to sign the word 'friend'. A month into his summer vacation after his senior year of high school, he'd grown bored and had borrowed a book on American Sign Language from the library. He'd memorized a hundred words or so.

One of her eyebrows lifts, "A friend wouldn't be messing with our jet."

The safety is clicked off and his senses tingle again.

He doesn't know the sign for dragon and goes for 'big friend'. She obviously understands the words but not the meaning. He's at a loss and knows she's close to shooting him or taking him down which would be even worse.

For a third time, his Spidey senses tingle as the jet is being flipped.

The Avengers voices flood into him, all at once.

"Get that thing away from the jet!" That's Tony.

"My arrows are doing jack shit, Stark." And Clint.

"Did you activate full strength on your blasters, Tones?" Then Rhodey.

"Completely useless," Tony says.

"It has some sort of impenetrable armor." Steve comments.

Peter lunges forward for Natasha; she can protect herself but its instinctual. He flips with the jet and with an arm around her waist keeps her upright. When it stops, she pushes away from him, but his grip is tight with adrenaline and her gun gets caught as her arm pulls back.

Its shot echoes.

Aithusa _roars_.

It's the sound that hits him first and then he's gasping for air as pain explodes in his side. The bullet is still there, no exit wound in his back. Adrenaline flairs and he slams his shoulder into her chest, shoving her to the floor. His dragon is roaring, he feels her fear in his chest. The exit of the jet is open and he runs through it, hand pressed into his wound. Blood is pouring out and he wonders why he hadn't made his shirt bulletproof. Right, that would require asking Tony for the material.

The Avengers are spread out in the sand. The jet has claw marks in its side from Aithusa attacking it in her attempts to save him from danger.

Aithusa lands, the force of her impact shaking the earth and knocking the Avengers off balance. He jumps on her back, pain only worsening by the movement.

Her wings stretch out and she's flying off without a word.

His face presses into her neck and tears flow free. It hurts. So much. But all he can think about is what he's going to do now.

He has a fucking bullet in his body and what is he going to do about that? He can't go to the med center at the Avengers Tower; they're used to treating Spider-Man and even if he drags himself there in the suit, there would be questions and he'd have no answers. Tony would want names, location, motive, height, and blood type if he could get it.

As much as he loves his mentor slash boss slash sort-of friend slash definitely family, Tony is far too involved in his business for a gunshot wound to go unnoticed.

"Let's go to the nest and make sure Tangier got there safely."

He wouldn't be ahead by much and it's not like she can fly him into New York. He needs to get back to Blue.

The flight back to the nest is as quick as the flight to Morocco. Aithusa is an older dragon, used to long flights and hardly seems affected by her time in the sky. His blood is soaking into the top of his pants, his entire side and hands growing sticky as it dries.

" _Pyrite can heal you, young Rider. Be strong._ "

Aithusa is an older dragon but doesn't know much about modern weapons. The bullet is still in his body; his own healing factor and Pyrite's healing are only going to lodge it in there.

She lands carefully to avoid jostling him unnecessarily and he slides off her back. Blue is there to catch him as his legs give out beneath him. She whines worriedly and Pyrite curls around his neck, nuzzling at his cheek.

He pets them softly, one hand still pressed into his side to slow his blood loss. "I, uh, need to get back as soon as possible."

Fly fast, is the underlying message.

Mio places her face against his chest and helps lift him onto Blue's back. He shakily pulls off the mask and his coat. Pyrite drags over his sweater, and he leaves the rest behind. He struggles to put on the sweater and sweat breaks out on his brow at the strain.

He'd been shot at before but had yet to actually get hit. That's pretty surprising when he thinks of his history. He's grateful it's only the first time as the pain throbs through him. From this angle and the pain that feels like it's all across his abdomen flowing outwards, he can't tell if it hit anything vital. It could have hit his intestines or kidney, in that bottom right region, and he's glad she hadn't shot higher.

Blue takes off and halfway back to New York he knows what he has to do.


	5. Chapter 5

There's only one person that won't question the bullet more than necessary. One person that can and will patch him up. One person he can trust to do that.

Blue hesitantly lands on Wade's building. He knows she wants to take him to a hospital, or to Tony who she can't help but like based on Peter's words. There is little she knows about Deadpool, which leads her to believe this isn't for the best.

"He'll fix this, promise." His words are clipped, each breath a strain.

_Let him be home_ , he thinks.

Peter steps up to the door leading into the building and breaks off the handle, it's an accident but he can't bring himself to care and trudges down the stairs.

Three weeks ago, Wade had gotten one of his legs chopped off by Green Goblin's hoverboard and Spider-Man had carried him home and bandaged his leg. Despite being overly flirty and a little annoying at times, Wade was a reliable ally and a strangely good friend and Peter had helped him out. Now was the time to cash in a favour.

Somehow he doesn't trip and break his face making his way down two flights of stairs. He walks down the hall to Wade's apartment. Having been here before, he remembers the door number but knows he would have found it anyway. There's blood stains on the floor right outside the door and scratches on it and its frame that normal people wouldn't have.

He knocks twice. It's not loud, his strength is waning.

There's a crash on the other side and then the door flies open and for the second time in one day, there's a gun pointed at his face. For some reason, this is one he's familiar with and doesn't pay it any attention.

"Hey, DP. S'me. Need, uh, a hand." Peter brushes by him and stumbles into the room.

It's the first time he sees Wade in civilian clothing; a t-shirt and sweatpants, no socks. He's seen the scars on his face before from going out for food and had been told they extended to his whole body by Wade himself, so there's no surprise at seeing him this way though Wade's stares at him like he's grown a second head.

Oh. Yeah. He's never seen Peter without the mask before. He feels dizzy and he knows it's the blood loss.

"Sorry, dude, but I'm not really the helping type. I can call you an ambulance."

"Tha's help'ng." Peter remembers the layout and makes his way to Wade's couch. He carefully lays himself down. His arm presses against the side of it and Pyrite crawls out of his sweater and hides under it. "An' no. Please. No amb'lance."

Wade walks over to him, gun now pointed at the floor, and stops beside the couch, "Do I know you? I'm pretty sure I'd remember a face like yours. Also, if you don't let me call an ambulance you're probably going to die. That's a shitload of blood that's outside of your body right now." The gun gestures towards his abdomen.

His hand is red and brown, blood flaking off any time his hand moves or clenches.

"Can't." Peter licks his lips and tries to form his words, "Wade, s'me. Spider-Man. Need you to patch me up."

The gun falls to the floor.

"Holy shit. You're Spider-Man?!"

Peter forces himself to nod. His head tilts back against the armrest and he stares up at the ceiling. The fatigue that washes it over him is a bad sign, he knows this, but there's no fighting it in his weakened state.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. You're dying on my couch. What the fuck, man?" Wade mumbles to himself for a few seconds then says, "So no Stark for this one? Just me? You sure?"

Peter nods again, turning his head to meet Wade's gaze. "Got shot. Could use your help."

"Alright, alright..." Wade leaves his line of vision and is quick to return with a first aid kit and a bottle of whiskey. "So, um. I don't have pain killers, and I know that wouldn't do much for you anyway. So here." He hands Peter the alcohol.

He takes it in weak hands and presses it to his lips, a bit sloshes out and trails down his chin. He swallows quickly to keep from tasting it. He knows he'll need this. Wade sits on his coffee table and leans over him.

His sweater is pulled up and next goes his shirt until Wade can see the wound. He takes a good look at it then lets out a heavy sigh.

"Spidey, you're already healing around the bullet. Getting this out will hurt like a bitch. Sure I can't call the Iron Douche?"

"Can't," Peter repeats. "I trust you."

That seems the be the right thing to say, Wade's returning smile is a little surprised and warm. His eyes quickly return to the wound because that's most important to address.

"Alright, drink some more then pass it here."

Peter complies, chugging until there's a warmth in his toes and fingers and he's feeling a bit nauseated. In the meantime, Wade leaves and returns with a small knife and dishtowel.

He takes the alcohol from Peter and pours some over his knife, "I hate to do this, Spidey, but I gotta reopen the wound enough to get the bullet out." Wade stuffs the dishtowel in his mouth and then tilts the bottle over his wound.

It doesn't stop him from screaming but keeps it from alerting the neighbors.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, so sorry..." Wade keeps mumbling apologies.

Peter feels lightheaded and dizzy and like maybe being chopped from the abdomen down would be better than going through this pain.

Wade goes to it, not wasting a second. He has to use the knife to cut open his skin until it's wide enough for him to pull the bullet out with a pair of disinfected tweezers. It clinks on the table and then Wade goes to work stitching the wound closed.

"There we go, baby boy. Bullets out. Just gonna stitch this up for you, alright?"

Peter knows he's talking to himself, mostly, and doesn't respond.

When he's finished, Wade places a bandage over the impacted area and looks up at his face with worry in his eyes.

To reassure him, Peter shakily pulls the dishtowel out of his mouth and smiles even though it requires a lot of effort, "Thanks."

"You lost a lot of blood. Like a lot, a lot."

"S'okay."

Wade's lips purse and he seems to be thinking.

"Sleep now?"

"Alright, get some sleep. But if I think at any point you might be dying I'm getting you to a hospital," Wade says, resolute.

"Sure," Peter says and then he's asleep.

Wade pulls down his shirt and sweater. He goes to his room to get a blanket and gently tucks him in. Then he settles on the floor, since he has no place to sit in his living room other than the occupied couch, and watches Peter. He watches his breathing, stares at his face to see if he gets any paler.

A solid fourty minutes later, he gets up to take a bathroom break and that's when Pyrite takes his chance. He crawls back up the couch and burrows himself under the blanket and Peter's shirt to press into his skin. His scales grow warm as he starts to heal him.

When Wade returns, there's no immediate difference but red returns to his cheeks after a while and he's relieved that it seems like they're going uphill rather than downhill.

Peter sleeps deeply and Wade stays vigil by his side.

He'd knocked on Wade's door around 6 pm and at 1 am he goes to check on his bandages to make sure he's healing well. Wade's gentle to keep from waking him up. He pulls down the blanket and then lifts his sweater and shirt in one.

"What the fucking fuck?"

On his stomach is a small silver lizard _thing_ curled into itself.

He backs up until his legs hit the coffee table, he sits down and reaches for the gun on the floor.

Peter wakes from his outburst and sits up hurriedly with a pained wince. Pyrite falls to his lap and chirps unhappily.

"Wha-whosit... Wade?" He looks at Wade who's looking down at his lap with surprise.

He follows his gaze and sees Pyrite, who's looking back at him with big purple eyes. It clicks.

"What's that?!" Wade asks.

"Umm..."

He lays back down because the pain in his side is still too great. Pyrite returns to his stomach and he pulls his shirt over him. He looks at Wade and smiles hesitantly.

"It's not what it looks like...?"

"I don't even know what it's supposed to look like!"

"This is Pyrite. He's a dragon. It's a long story."

Wade wasn't the sanest person he's ever met; he could have lied. He doesn't want to. He's not sure why, quite yet.

His response is a few quick blinks.

"What were you doing, anyway?" He asks curiously.

This is an easier conversation for Wade, "I was going to take a look at your injury to see if you're healing alright. Then there was a dragon and that kinda went sideways."

Peter lifts his shirt again and looks at the bandage. There's a bit of pink, but it's not worrisome. "I think I'm okay. Pyrite can heal, I think he's got this handled. The biggest concern was getting that bullet out. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem," Wade says. "You know what? Dragons are not the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life. We can talk about all this in the morning. Get back to sleep. I'll wake you for breakfast."

He must still look like he's dying because Wade isn't great at sensing the mood.

"Sure," Peter agrees. His body's heavy and he can definitely sleep for a few more hours. "You too. Get some sleep, I mean."

"Of course, cutie."

Peter pulls the blanket up to his chin and is out again almost instantly.

Wade can't bring himself to leave the room; Spidey has colour in his cheeks and the wound seems to be healing, but he wants to keep an eye on him in case something goes wrong. He doesn't sleep. He pulls out his phone and plays games, glancing over at him every once in a while.

When light starts peeking through his curtains, he heads to the kitchen to make them breakfast. It's eggs and toasts, his usual favourite of pancakes probably too sugary after a night of recovery.

The smell fills the apartment and it doesn't take long for Peter to wake to it.

He sits up. Pyrite's no longer healing at this point and is also asleep. He falls to his lap but doesn't wake. Carefully, he stands and places his dragon on the couch in the warmth of the space he's just left. Wade smiles in his direction as he makes his way towards the food.

"Mornin', Spidey!"

"It's Peter, actually. My name." He takes a seat at the island. Wade doesn't have a dining table, only an island with a couple of bar stools for seating. His side hurts like a bruise now. "And good morning."

Wade leaves the food and walks around to his side. "Can I take a look?" He gestures to his abdomen.

Peter nods. His hands gently lift his shirt and sweater and then peels back the bandaging. The wound is closed and has healed quite nicely.

"I'll get the food done and then I'll clean this up and take these out."

"Thanks, Wade. I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it, Spidey. Petey, I mean. Sorry."

Wade puts the bandage back in place, lowers his clothing, and then returns to the food. He makes them each a plate, washes his hands, then goes to the first aid kit to get what he needs.

Peter holds his clothes up for him to remove the stitches and clean the wound. He changes the bandages for a new one and straightens up with a smile, "Good as new! That dragon sure knows how to heal." He throws the used bandages in the trash and re-washes his hands.

He hands Peter his plate of food and sits beside him.

"This is you, isn't it?" Wade pulls something up on his phone and slides it across the table to him.

There's a news report about yesterday's mission; in the eyes of the world, it was a failure. It also gives the reason behind that.

Peter doesn't lie because he doesn't want to.

"Yeah, that's me." He reads over it cautiously.

There's no name, no pictures, no suspects. Most importantly, the two dragons weren't tracked; the nest is safe. They mention a human ally and they actually use the word dragon.

"Feel like sharing?"

Peter shrugs, "It's pretty much what it looks like. Dragons exist and they're nice and don't want to hurt anyone. They find homes away from humans and have to migrate every few thousand years when the resources start dying out. Apparently, it's my responsibility to oversee this. I have no idea how I'm meant to make that happen but that's the job."

"So you're like the dragon whisperer?" Wade asks.

"They call me the Dragon Lord, I kind of prefer dragon rider. Less... posh, I guess. Two of them live with me, the rest I'm sending to a safe space. But honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing."

"Huh." Wade takes a few bites of food as a means of taking time to think. "And you haven't told Stark yet? I thought you two were close."

"We are. They're just... not really my secret to share, you know?" Peter shrugs, "Besides. He tends to be a bit overprotective and I don't think he'd understand that they're not out to hurt anybody."

"Then why are you telling me?"

Peter eats. His cheeks grow red and he ignores it. He's not sure what to answer, and possibly sensing his mood, Pyrite wakes and flies from his spot on the couch to rest on Peter's head.

"This is Pyrite, the laziest dragon in existence."

He growls softly in response but doesn't shift from his spot.

"That's... cool." Wade's looking at the dragon using his hair as a nest.

Peter reaches up and gently tugs him out, getting an annoyed huff in response. Pyrite curls in his arms and Peter holds him out to Wade, "Pyrite, this is Wade. Also known as Deadpool."

Pyrite stares at him, eyes half-closed with fatigue. He's not interested in their conversation. He huffs out a puff of smoke.

Wade laughs, "Guess he's not that interested in a merc."

"He's not interested in anything other than fish and naps." Peter sets him in his lap. Pyrite had given him the distraction he'd needed to think over Wade's earlier question and he thinks he's found his answer. "You'll keep them a secret, won't you?"

"Of course. Superhero bro code." Wade holds up three fingers in the boy scout salute, "And I won't tell anyone about the really nice face you've got hidden under the mask either."

Peter ducks his head shyly and laughs, "Thanks, Wade. And that's why I don't mind you knowing about this. I have full faith in your honour system."

"You trust me and not the Avengers? Maybe I should have checked that bullet for drugs."

Peter rolls his eyes, "I don't _not_ trust them. They just... don't always trust me to do the smart thing. And I get that, because I've done some stupid stuff, but this is one thing I'm not ready to fight over."

He pulls out his own phone. Friday's already sent him some confidential reports about yesterday's fight. He's surprised Tony hasn't figured out this is going on yet.

"Even Stark?"

"What's with your fixation on me and Mr. Stark's relationship?" Wade's fidgeting pulls his focus from his phone and he quirks an eyebrow at him.

"I don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"The relationship. Sometimes you act like you worship the ground he walks on and sometimes, like now, you don't seem to trust him with something that's important to you."

"Well-"

"Wait the fuck up," Wade interrupts him. "I get it. Man, does saying things out loud always make them make sense? I gotta do that more often."

"You never stop talking," Peter points out but is promptly ignored.

"Stark is totally your sugar daddy."

"What the fuck, Wade? _No_!"

"I meant daddy. I get them confused sometimes."

"How-"

"That's exactly it. Only rebellious teens can master that whole 'I love you' but 'I don't like you' attitude. I didn't know Stark had an illegitimate son, but I guess with that big brain of yours and the face kind of-"

"He's not my dad! Christ, Wade, you can get so side-tracked sometimes. I'm also almost twenty, hardly a teenager anymore. And - _and_ \- this isn't about liking or not liking anyone and I do trust Mr. Stark."

"But he treats you like a kid so you gotta hide the dragons because he'll think you're one of those kids who wants to hug the lions at the zoo."

"That's... a little more on the nose."

"Can I pet the dragon?"

Peter can only shake his head at Wade's abrupt change of subject. He picks Pyrite off his lap and sets him on the counter between their plates. "Sure, he likes to be pet under his neck, here." He demonstrates by brushing a finger over the softer flesh.

While Wade pets the dragon, who pretends to be unhappy about it, Peter returns to his food and phone. A part of his thoughts are focused on the place where their knees are touching (when did that happen?) and does his best to ignore it.

_Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, War Machine, and Hawkeye arrived on Moroccan soil at 15:03 EST. The creature, currently identified as a dragon by the Avengers, hid itself in the sand upon their approach in a higher than average reactive flight or fight response. The dragon was approximately 14 feet in length with yellow and beige scales indicative of a desert background._

_The Avengers attempted to capture the dragon for examination, but at 15:08 EST, a second dragon arrived on site. This one was described as being over 60 feet in length with gold scales. The attached images appear to support this observation. It attacked the Avengers and a human ally, based off Black Widow's testimony, infiltrated and sabotaged the jet._

_Both dragons and the human ally escaped to the West. The Avengers were delayed too long and were unable to follow after them. The human ally sustained an injury, one bullet in the abdomen, but all weapons on site were ineffective against the dragons._

It's a good recap of what occurred.

There's a knot in his stomach at the use of the word 'dragon'. He'd seen it on the article Wade had shown him, but this is different. This is a report the Avengers themselves had given.

There's written evidence that Natasha had shot him. He hopes she never finds out.

Wade grabs his plate once he's finished and refills it with what's left in the pan. Peter only notices as he's placing it back in front of him.

"I'm always starving after a good bout of healing," Wade explains. He points to Pyrite, sleeping on the counter, "What does that one eat?"

"Meat, usually. He's also partial to peaches."

"Is that healthy for him?"

Peter shrugs.

"Being the dragon whisperer didn't come with a manual?"

Peter laughs, "Would have made my life a little too easy!"

Wade opens his fridge and then the freezer door. He pulls out hot pockets and holds them out to him, "Are these okay? There's pepperoni in it."

"Sure," It's probably not good to give his dragon hot pockets, but the earnestness in his face urges him to agree. "You don't need to heat it up or anything. He can take care of that."

Wade places them on a plate and sets it next to Pyrite. He scratches under his neck and coos at him, "Wakey, wakey, dragon baby."

He shakes himself awake and happily walks over to the food. His jaw opens and a quick burst of flame escapes, heating it up instantly. The outside is burnt in spots and Peter's certain the center still has some frozen bits, but he's perfectly content to gobble it up as it is.

"Is he going to get any bigger?" Wade asks, "The ones in the news today were really huge."

"Apparently they come in all shapes and sizes. I don't think he's going to grow anymore, he's already four years old. My other one took about two years to get to her full size, and she's big enough to ride, like a horse."

"Do I get to meet that one?" Wade asks excitedly. He takes his seat next to Peter again, thighs touching this time. He can't tell if he's doing it on purpose or not, but it feels cruel.

"I can arrange that." Peter finishes his breakfast, blissfully full. He sets his phone down on the counter, nothing new to learn from it. "But right now I should be heading out. I don't have school today which means I'll be expected at the Tower."

"Sure."

Peter stands and picks up Pyrite. He lets Wade get in a final pet before lifting his sweater and letting him wrap around his waist. There's a hole in his sweater from the bullet and its darkened from blood. He'll need to stop at home to change. At least his wound has healed and he can move and walk with little discomfort.

He bounces on his toes, hands linked in front of his stomach, and he meets Wade's gaze with a hesitant smile. He's not sure how to say what needs to be said.

"Thanks for helping me out last night. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't." Peter's known for being enthusiastic and bubbly, the perfect extrovert at times, but now he's shy and uncertain.

"You've done it for me," Wade says with a shrug like it's nothing.

It isn't. He presses, "I mean it. I didn't know what I was going to do and I was honestly pretty scared. Thank you for being there when I needed you most."

Wade doesn't meet his gaze, unable to accept his gratitude easily, "Don't worry about it. You know I've always got your back."

"Yeah, I do." It sounds breathless to his ears because it is. He clears his throat and takes a few steps towards the door. He hesitates. He turns back to Wade and finds the courage to say, "I think I owe you a proper thank you. What would you say to dinner?"

Wade's head snaps up and meets his gaze with confusion in his eyes. A wry grin spreads on his lips, "I don't need a thank you. We're bros, right? I'm sure I'll cash in my favour before the month is up."

Either he's being purposely obtuse or he doesn't understand. Peter's going for the former on this one.

"Okay, so no thank you dinner. How about a date?" Peter offers instead. He knows he's blushing, but he stands tall and pretends he isn't. The expression on Wade's face doesn't change and before he can make a snide comment, he adds, "Because apparently I trust you enough to cut a bullet out of my body, and I think that might be worth exploring. If you're up for it. If you've just been joking with all the flirting, you can say no and we can pretend this never happened."

Wade gives in to his stubbornness and his smile grows bright, "If you're up for it, then so am I."

"Cool. That's... cool." Peter's smiling, stomach tingling with warmth. "I'll text you for details if that's okay?"

"Totally okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so enters the love interest and all the fluuuuuff!
> 
> Thank you to those who've left comments, it means a lot to know some of you are enjoying this story! I'm having a lot of fun with it and despite the niche AU this is, I'm happy there are those who are liking it.
> 
> Please let me know you're thoughts, I'd love to hear from you!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of PG-13ness in this chappie. Not sure if I need to up the rating for it, it's not graphic or anything.
> 
> Let me know.
> 
> Please enjoy the following: fluff, Spideypool, Irondad, stuffs.

Peter stops at home to change and then makes his way to the Avengers Tower because it's what's expected of him.

He finds Tony in the lab, fiddling with his blasters. From the schematics around him, he's trying to make it more powerful.

"Hey, Mr. Stark," he greets. He takes a seat near him and watches him work.

"Hey, kiddo. How's it going?"

The pain in his side has mostly faded and could be compared to a sore muscle. It's not something he intends to share.

"I'm alright. Trying to up the firepower on your blasters?"

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you've seen the news."

An uninvolved Peter would have been crazily excited by the idea of dragons and he's trying to embody the person they're expecting him to be.

"I saw that! Dragons? How is that even possible?!"

"No idea, but apparently they're impervious to just about every weapon we have."

"You really think its dragons?" He asks. They hadn't spat out fire, the typical dragon behaviour seen in media. Many people were willing to blame it on birds or photoshop, why not Tony?

"Can't think of anything else with scales that can fly. It was also close to 65 feet long with a 70-foot wingspan."

"Did it attack you? All I saw online was that it was spotted and they sent you guys off to capture it."

"Well... no."

"Why is everyone trying to capture it then? If it hasn't hurt anyone?"

Tony glances at him briefly, the hint of a smile on his lips. Wade's words echo in his head. He's known for a while that he considers this man family, but to put a name to it was unfamiliar territory.

"We have no choice, Pete. These things have just started appearing out of nowhere, who knows who's sent them. We couldn't hurt that thing no matter how hard we tried and if it goes after a city we're screwed."

"Maybe it won't."

"And what if it does?" Tony counters effortlessly.

Peter isn't sure what to say. He settles on, "You're powerful. How do people know you won't start attacking a city?"

Tony sets down his tools and turns to him, giving him his full attention, "We can't communicate with these things-"

"Have you tried?" Peter pushes.

"I don't want to have this argument with you, Peter. I knew you wouldn't agree, that's why I didn't want you knowing about this in the first place. My duty is to protect the people on this planet; these things are a threat. I have to do what's necessary."

His fingers tighten in the material of his jeans. He doesn't want to fight with Tony, but the dragons are his people. They _are_ the people of this planet.

"But what if it isn't necessary? What if you hurt these dragons and you shouldn't?"

He could show him Blue and Pyrite. He doesn't think he'd understand, even with the evidence in front of him. They need to do as ordered by the Accords, and Tony has enough guilt on his shoulders that he's willing to do anything to assuage it.

Tony rubs his tired eyes and sighs, "Let's drop it, kiddo. This conversation isn't going anywhere." He gestures to the table, "Wanna give me a hand?"

Peter stands. He wants to cry, a little bit. He lifts his chin and says resolutely, "I really don't."

Tony nods in understanding. His hand fidgets with an unattached wire. "I'm sorry, Pete. I know you try to look out for the little guys, but I can't stand with you on this one. If we had a better understanding where they came from, maybe it could be different, but right now people are scared and I have a job to do."

The hard part is, Peter understands. There's an opening to tell the truth, but he doesn't know what good it'll do. He can't risk their lives because he places his trust in a powerful man who happens to be someone he sees as a father figure.

"I have some schoolwork to catch up on. I'll see you later."

It's easier when he knows it's as hard for Tony as it is for him. He can see it in the twitch of his hand, the stress in his shoulders. He hates this. They both want to be protectors; they just can't agree on what needs protecting.

"See you, Pete."

Blue flies him back to school where he picks up his backpack. There's a couple missed texts and calls on the phone he'd left behind. He responds accordingly and agrees to lunch with May. He sends out a message to Wade to coordinate some dinner plans.

He makes a pitstop at home to change and drop off his things, and then he's off to the nest.

Tangier is another dragon made of new magic, meaning Peter can't communicate with him. Aithusa informs him that there are so few dragons remaining of old magic that he'd be better off getting used to not being able to speak to them. He also acts like he's tough and insists he could have taken on the Avengers.

"I'm sure you could have kicked their asses," he agrees to keep the peace, "But it's best that we don't go attacking anybody. We don't want them thinking we're the enemy."

At this point, he's made himself a proper pack. Evangelico is sleeping in the water, Aithusa is curled up to take less room on one side of their alcove, Mio is playing with Blue, Pyrite is laying in his lap, and Tangier is sitting near him and watching him with big brown eyes.

They don't deserve to be attacked as they've been. They're good and kind creatures.

Peter searches online for spots that would befit a dragon and comes up empty-handed.

They're currently living under sand and water and in lava to protect themselves; they can hide, that's certain. The problem is the traveling.

"How's the fish?" He asks Mio and Blue, both engaged in some sort of fish catching competition. They chirp happily and continue their game.

He needs to figure something out soon.

Stephen, unfortunately, isn't willing to budge on his three portal limit. He knocks on the sanctuary door later that evening and gets a hard no to his request. It would be easier to find a destination if he didn't have to think about the traveling. He'll keep that last portal in reserve for now, he decides.

It takes considerable effort not to flinch when he comes face to face with Natasha a couple of days later. She's not holding a gun and she's only greeting him like she always has.

He and Tony are still at odds, but he's not going to ditch out on training because they can't agree on something. She and Steve are the ones who work with him most often, better suited for handling his powers and easing his fear of accidentally hurting his sparring partner.

Peter's gotten better in the past few years, but she still knocks him on his ass in minutes. He's out of the suit, only practicing hand to hand and learning to master his speed and agility in a way that could very well save his life in battle.

Tony doesn't come to see him, though, as he usually does if he can, and Natasha tries to snap him out of his dark mood hopelessly.

"Come on, Peter. What's wrong with you today? You're hardly trying."

"Sorry, Ms. Romanoff."

He brushes himself off and stands again.

"Is this about Tony?" She asks hands on her hips.

His side aches with a phantom pain he knows isn't real. Tony could have been the one to shoot him; that was a very real possibility. It could happen next time a dragon pops up and he needs to protect it. He can get over Natasha aiming a gun at his face, she's his co-worker and someone he admires but not much else. He's not sure he could emotionally handle it if it's Tony.

"It's fine. I'll do better."

She doesn't press him and they continue on. At least, in the midst of all this, he still has Wade.

From: Petey  
_Does Friday at six work for you?_

Wade's response is a kissing emoji and it helps his week go by faster.

They agree to dinner at a little Italian place that gives them breadsticks until they physically can't eat anymore and Wade orders them wine despite that neither of them can get any sort of buzz off it and Peter is technically underage. It's romantic and Peter enjoys every moment of it.

Peter can finally talk about his dragons without restraint; no one who could be eavesdropping would make any sense of his words. Wade's as excited as he is at the mere thought of their existence and it encourages him to share everything. From finding Blue's egg to fighting the Avengers just days earlier.

A mission alert on his phone breaks them out of their after-dinner chatting. Neither of them minds the interruption because it's an excuse to spend more time together since the waiter is clearly annoyed that they aren't leaving but won't say anything. Wade isn't in his suit, but there's a very obvious gun at his waist.

There's an armed robbery taking place at a bank several blocks down. Hostages are being held at gunpoint and that's why Peter's been alerted at all.

They both change into their suits and meet up on location. At this point, Spider-Man and Deadpool are seen as a regular team up in New York and them being together is perfectly normal. They work well together, too.

Wade creates a disturbance out front where the cops are and Peter sneaks in through the vents. Two men are pointing pistols at a group of five hostages and two others are grabbing the cash.

Fifteen-year-old Peter Parker would have probably gotten ahead of himself, now he has more experience and isn't as wary of guns as he used to be. Now he understands his own powers, he knows what he can do.

The two that are guarding the hostages get distracted by Wade's ruckus outside, they leave them with their guns trained on the front doors.

"That's that sword-wielding psycho isn't it?" One of them asks, thick southern accent.

Peter crawls out of the vent to the ceiling. A couple of well-aimed shots have the two men behind the counter webbed to the wall, mouths covered. He quickly shoots another line of webbing to keep their bags of money from falling to the floor and alerting the other two.

"Come on, popo! I'm an excellent hostage negotiator. The last time was a mistake and that old lady lived anyway, so I don't get what the hold up is about. Ha, get it? _Hold up_."

It's hard to completely ignore Deadpool.

"If that one's here, you know who usually follows, right?"

The two men look at each other.

Peter lowers himself upside down on a line of web. The hostages notice him and a couple smile, though they remain too terrified to do much of anything.

"Ooh, can I take a guess? Is it Spider-Man?" They turn and point their guns at him. His head tilts and he doesn't move, "Those guns say I'm right and you're upset you didn't buzz in first."

Fighting civilians has become mostly effortless. He webs them up before they can even shoot their guns and then he's telling the hostages to head on out.

Peter's also learned not to overstay his welcome. He crawls back out through the vents and shoots a text to Deadpool.

They meet up a couple of blocks away from the bank.

"I'm pretty sure that's the world record for shortest bank heist attempt."

Peter laughs, "I think it would have been faster if you'd convinced them to let you in as hostage negotiator."

They giggle together for a moment, letting the adrenaline cool off. It hadn't been difficult, but that didn't mean their bodies didn't react accordingly to the danger of the situation.

"Did you really get an old lady shot?" He asks because he has to.

"Technically yes, but in my defense, she shot me first."

Peter shakes his head and points down the alley, "Let's get you home, True Detective."

They walk the rest of the way, his apartment isn't far from where they've ended up. It's probably not faster, but Peter prefers taking the window route and gives Wade a lift up. He pries it open and he climbs through with Wade on his back. They separate, but not by much.

He pulls off his mask, shakes out his hair, and throws the mask on the coffee table. He can feel his body heat; they're not touching but they could be.

"Hi," he says. No quip or joke is coming to mind. He wants to see his face, to look into those laughing blue eyes and feel his heart race in response. He reaches up and his thumbs slip under his mask and he pauses. "Can I?" He asks.

Wade nods once, quick and rigid. Peter gently peels off the mask, exposing his face little by little. Wade doesn't meet his gaze. He tosses it next to his own and smiles softly.

"I was thinking I'd like to kiss you now if that's okay?" Peter asks, hesitant but determined.

His eyes meet his and they're lit up with joy. Wade doesn't respond, he dips down and carefully lets their lips touch. Peter throws his arms around his neck and pulls him against him, their chests pressed together in shared warmth. Tentatively, Wade lets his hands circle his waist and his fingers dig into his hips.

Peter is completely unashamed in his desire. He wants him, desperately, and he sees no reason to go slow or act timid when it's what he feels.

One of his hands move to the front of his shirt and clutches at the material tightly. His lips part and Wade takes the invitation to explore. He guides him, slowly, to one of the stools and lifts him into the seat. Peter wraps his legs around his waist and tugs him in close. There's a moan between them that Peter thinks came from him.

This is a man he cares for; as Spider-Man, as a dragon rider, and most importantly, as Peter Parker. He's a person of many faces and Wade seems to like all of them. When everything else in his life is big and loud and uncertain, there's Wade. Reliable. Honest. Loyal. Sexy. That last one's new, but Peter's more than open to exploring it further.

"Fuck, I want..." Peter's not sure exactly what he wants, at this point, but he thinks it might be everything.

Wade moves his lips down to the underside of his throat and that's exactly what he wants, he decides. His head tips back and his eyes close in bliss.

He tugs at his scabbards and moves back far enough to pull them over his head and drop them on the floor before Wade is back to sucking bruises into his throat. His hands move down to the bottom of his shirt, tugging it out of his waistband. There are too many clothes between them and he wants there to be less.

"You're so hot, baby." Wade's hands move to his cheeks and he brings him in for another heated kiss.

His back is digging into the counter from the pressure of Wade's body against his, but he doesn't mind. His ankles are locked tight behind his back, unwilling to let him go further from him than necessary.

"Bedroom?" He asks, "Can we... if you...?" It's hard pulling out of the kiss long enough to speak and manages something mostly coherent.

Wade leaves a trail of kisses down his neck and nods once, "Fuck yes, fuck..."

His hands dip under his thighs and lift him off the stool. Peter's pliant in his grip, holding tightly and letting him carry him off. His eyes slip open for the briefest second and he catches a glint of black over his shoulder and... of course.

His drops his feet to the floor, stumbling slightly and Wade moves his hands to his waist to keep him balanced. He looks confused for a moment and Peter points over his shoulder.

"Wade, meet Blue." Peter clears his throat and tries to calm the heat racing through him.

He turns and spots her easily. She's bigger than a great dane with a thick chest and abdomen made of pure muscle. Her black scales look inky in the room's lighting and she's sitting next to his couch with a backpack dangling in her mouth. Her teeth are sharp, but she's careful not to tear it.

Wade waves, "Hey."

Though Peter had described their sizes to him and he'd seen the pictures of Aithusa and Tangier from the fight earlier that week, he isn't prepared to see her in person. Her head tilts and her pointed ears flicker slightly. She drops the bag in what appears to be a response.

Peter spots the open window and thinks he deserves this for being so careless.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I forgot." Peter sighs and looks at Wade. He explains, "It's a nest night."

"Which means?"

"Which means play time for my big dragon babies."

She's completely shameless about interrupting them. To be fair, he hadn't expected to get so easily sidetracked and should have been home by now.

"I try to go out there once a week or so to visit the dragons and have her burn off some energy with the others. I didn't get to go last week because of a project I needed to work on for school, and of course when we went a few days ago I was bleeding out and it wasn't much fun for anyone."

"Right."

"I'd ask her to hold off, but I promised." Peter smiles apologetically, "I don't like breaking my promises."

Wade returns the smile, "No worries. Now I can scratch getting cockblocked by a dragon off my bucket list."

Peter laughs and shakes his head, "That makes two of us, I guess. And who knows, maybe next time I'll be taking you to the nest with me."

"I don't know if I'm willing to be outnumbered like that. This one looks like she's wondering if I taste like chicken."

"Actually, humans are too fatty for their taste," Peter says seriously, but he can't keep back his laughter at Wade's distress. "They don't eat people, Wade. I promise. Come here," he waves over Blue.

She trots over and bumps her nose into his hand. He pets her behind the ear and her eyes close happily.

He grabs Wade's wrist and slowly guides his hand, fingers extended into an opened palm, and stops him an inch away from her nose. Her eyes open and she sniffs it curiously. Deeming him friendly, she presses the top of her nose against his palm in greeting.

"She already recognizes your scent from you being around me all the time. I also may have told her about you. A little bit."

Wade looks at him, a warmth in his eyes Peter's never seen before. The mask normally hides everything. Introducing him to the being that's meant everything to him since he was nine years old makes his fingers and toes tingle with joy and he's pretty sure that look is only a mirror of himself.

"She's cold," Wade says. His voice comes out as a whisper.

"She's in the reptile family, I think. They're cold-blooded."

He sees it coming and Peter tilts his head up to meet his kiss. It's gentle, unlike the ones that came before it. There's nowhere for it to lead, at this point, and it's only for the experience of a moment of pleasure.

Blue snorts and shoves her face into his stomach.

Peter pulls back with a short laugh, "Alright. I have to get going, it's a long flight. I'll text you?"

Wade nods and takes a step back to give them some space. It's a smart move. "Enjoy playtime with the kids; I'll take care of bringing home the bacon."

Peter puts his mask into his backpack and slips a sweater and sweatpants over his spider suit. He climbs on her back and waves goodbye to Wade. She exits through the window and then they're off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the positive feedback so far! You have no idea what it means to me! 
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chappie :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy :)

The dragon sightings occur once or twice a year, after that.

Peter finds Maris in Florida before the Avengers do. She lives in swamps, is as big as his head, and has murky green scales. She's playful and gets on with Blue and Mio. He can't speak to her. He's not surprised.

It's a close call with Lintu. Only luck gets him to Flaherty Island in the Hudson's Bay before anyone else does. He's even luckier that his teacher's willing to let him finish the test at a later time; he claims a family emergency and she believes him.

Lintu is the size of a German Shepherd and is a light grey. His tail is pointed and filled with a paralyzing venom; Peter sees him sting a bird and it falls from the sky. He flies above Peter and Blue, high in the clouds, and they pass right above the Avenger's jet. He also can't speak to Peter; he's gotten used to that.

Blue's getting thicker with muscles, flying further and further without needing rest as the months go on.

She can't make it to Australia faster than a jet though. Or Angola. Or Chile.

Some of the sighted dragons never get found. Not by the government, not by Tony, and not by Peter.

He hopes they've made their way to new homes without his help.

Aithusa isn't concerned and neither is he.

"Are we going to get more eggs this migration? How does that work?"

The nest is a second home now. He has clothes here, a toothbrush and toothpaste. A bedroll and blankets. He's made a fireplace and brought a grill rack to cook on. He's carted over tools to help him build; he's made a worktable out of fallen trees and uses it to improve his riding gear, to make a fishing net, to sand down cuts of wood to put together a small hut for shelter.

" _Perhaps, young Rider_."

He's using a mortar and pestle to break down scales into paint at his workstation. It's a mess. It reminds him of his table at the Tower.

This is his third home if he lets himself think about it.

" _If we can find each other and mating season can begin_." She continues.

Animal mating habits aren't his area of expertise or interest, usually, but this should be fascinating to him seeing as it's dragons. It's a little weird hearing it from an actual dragon though and he's a little embarrassed. He listens but doesn't face her.

Wade can't hear her, of course, and is cheerfully oblivious as he's wrestling with Blue in the grass near him. Not too close; he's had to tell them all off about keeping away from his dangerous equipment, even Aithusa who's typically conscientious of her tail.

" _... after the mating dance, we..._ "

The dragons all love Wade. Even the reserved Evangelico and tough-dragon Tangier.

There's something about his silly behaviour and odd sense of charm that amuses them. Aithusa refers to him as his mate and he's a little endeared by that term. Dragons mate for life; it's a big reason for the low breeding rates. When one half dies, the other can live for centuries all on their own.

Peter's only ever had Wade. So far he plans to keep him.

Wade's been with others, he doesn't mind that at all.

" _... it takes between 12 to 15 months for the female to fertilize the egg..._ "

He's turning dropped scales into paint because Wade asked for it. He's making something or other that Peter's not allowed to see and has failed enough times that he's given up on doing it himself. He pours the different colours into small jars, Wade said he didn't need much, and corks them then sets them into his bag.

He pulls his riding gear out next.

It's gone through a lot of variations and modifications, improvements and a lot of bad ideas. He's proud of this one, though, and only intends to add a pouch to his belt to carry spare food. It's inconvenient to be lugging around a backpack and may be a tell to his age.

He still goes through as many backpacks in college (even nearly graduated) as he did as a high school student, so no one would know it's his since it changes every other day, even Tony couldn't keep up, but there's no reason to take that risk.

While Blue is a hunter and can eat any animal she finds without needing it cooked, Peter doesn't have that benefit and is forced to carry granola bars everywhere. Though he isn't the one doing the work, long flights make him hungry.

The mask fits over his face and covers his hair. There's a film over the eyes similar to his Spider suit that helps with his enhanced vision. It's made of thick leather to protect his skin from the wind; it's black and he's etched designs into the material to make it look like scales. He's not the greatest artist, but he's patient and it comes out looking better than he expected it to.

The suit itself is also made of leather and looks more like armor now; it works well to cut out the wind. Blue flies _fast_. He's pressed fallen scales into it, using heat and pressure, and the various colours blend into the black of the fabric and aren't overly bright. He could walk through fire with this thing on and wouldn't feel a thing. He also wears ankle-high boots that are meant for horse riding but serves well enough for dragons.

A sheath strapped to his left arm holds a dagger Wade gave him. Dragons get stuck in trees and bushes, sometimes, and it's better to cut them out than have them either burn it in flames or use their strength to tear it apart. The belt at his waist is already equipped with a couple of pouches to carry a compass, a couple of maps, a burner phone Wade also gave him, a needle and thread, and his keys.

This is an outfit that can take him to Australia.

Blue can't make that flight in one day, that's speeds she can't reach and he's sure his body couldn't handle it even with the superpowers and this decked out suit, but a couple of days might be doable.

It's okay that he can't find all these dragons so long as the Avengers don't find them first.

Friday still sends him reports after every sighting. After every failed attempt at catching a dragon.

There were three in the past ten months; they're waking faster now.

He finishes adding the extra pouch and goes to sit with Wade, thoroughly beaten up by Blue and lazing in the grass.

Aithusa has stopped giving him sex ed on dragon mating and he tries to pretend he heard none of it.

"All done. We can hang out for a little while longer, but I can't be late for lab time again or else Tony'll put me on cleaning duty." He's not a teenager anymore, he calls him Tony now. It took some getting used to. Calling him Tony for the first time was weirder than calling him dad while high on Scorpion's hallucinogenic drug.

That only happened once. Stopping it from happening again was a constant pain in the ass.

"Then don't make such a mess." Wade's laying against Blue and tugs him down to join him.

"Piss off." He curls into his side, head leaning back into Blue. She's warm but has never been too warm to cuddle. "Have you seen our kitchen? That's all you."

"I accept my faults, baby. Besides, cooking for you and these two monsters is a never-ending chore."

"That's because you spoil them and got Pyrite addicted to bacon."

They stay like that for a while, chatting about nothing important. It's a Saturday in mid-June, it's summer break before his last year of college. He spends his time working for Tony. At this point, they don't bother with the term intern anymore. He's his lab assistant and helps him design new products and makes some of his own that he gives to the company.

Pepper pulls him into board meetings and has him read documents before she signs them to get his opinion. They pay someone to balance the accounts every tax season, but she had him go over it this year with her as a learning exercise, so she said. He's pretty sure she just wanted to make sure it was done properly. He's not sure, though, why she does any of this.

Tony said it was because he couldn't babysit him all the time and he wasn't going to pay him to laze around. He'd left it at that because it's still interesting. Working in the lab will always be his favourite part though.

The other dragons come to lay around them in a big pile of warmth. Even Evangelico, whose love for the past Dragon Lord makes it harder for him to attach to Peter. He'd been hatched by her, Aithusa explained to him once. It's a special bond, similar to a familial one, and Peter understands because he feels that way for his three hatchlings.

Wade's fallen asleep and Aithusa is telling him a story.

" _... and after the dragons were spread to every corner of the earth, she went to rest by the mountains to sleep in peace. The humans woke her once; her fire turned the forests to ashes and melted the oceans-_ " He knows she means evaporated, but doesn't correct her. " _Her rage could be heard by all. Who dared to wake her? Who were these people that hurt her children? To mother, the humans are dragon hunters and can be nothing else._ "

" _Did they kill her, too?_ " He speaks to her in his mind so as not to wake anyone.

Most of Aithusa's stories end in sadness.

" _No. She killed them. When the world was only dragons once more, she returned to sleep, her duties fulfilled._ "

" _I thought all your stories were real?_ "

" _They are._ "

" _But humans are still here. She couldn't have killed them all._ "

" _Oh, but she did, young Rider. There is no force quite like a mother's rage. But a human's will is second to it. They will always return, no matter the obstacles they face. Life on earth restarted and followed its cycle as it always will._ "

Just once he'd like her story to end well.

He still doesn't know what to do with the dragons. He doesn't want her story to play out again, only the winner would be the other side.

The humans would kill the dragons until none were left. But could they rise through the ashes as the humans once had?

When he looks at the time, he knows they'll be late. Again. Like always.

He really has to work on that.

They leave all but Blue and Pyrite behind and return to New York.

Carrying two has only increased Blue's strength after so long, and now the flight is nothing to her.

Wade doesn't have a riding outfit of his own, says it should be a dragon whisperer thing, but wears a black version of his suit for secrecy and leaves most of his weapons behind. The swords were his biggest giveaway and he knew the importance of not being recognized. He loves these dragons the most after Peter.

She takes them home so that Peter can change and head off to work.

They'd been dating only a few months before they decided to move in together. They were confident in the relationship and it seemed like the logical thing to do. So far it was working out; the typical new roommate complaints were there but their lives intertwined almost perfectly. (Normal people would complain about their partner leaving the toothpaste cap off the tube, Peter complains about dismembered limbs and blood stains and he's somehow gotten used to that).

He came with two dragons so he has his fair share of baggage.

Aunt May was fully supportive of the relationship, Tony... not so much. They did eventually stop arguing about it, which was good enough for both of them for now, even if Tony couldn't bring himself to support it. Peter was confident they'd get there.

He drops his things on the corner of their bed and changes into his Spider-Man suit.

"I'm off, I'll see you at dinner." He gives Wade a kiss before pulling on his mask.

"Give the old man a kiss for me."

He pulls a disgusted face he knows Wade can't see and leaves.

Tony doesn't say out loud that he's late, only tosses a rag at his face and says, "I want Dum-E to sparkle before you're out of here, got it?"

"Anything for you, boss."

He knows Tony hates that one in particular, even more than Mr. Stark.

He kneels next to the robot and goes straight into talking about preparing for his last year of school and life in general, by now he knows Tony wants to hear about it.

There are only two topics they don't talk about.

Tony's opened up to him about Afghanistan, about flying a bomb to what he thought was death. About Howard and Maria; playing the piano for his mother and hiding tears from his father. Peter's told him about his nightmares and getting trapped under a building and the ensuing claustrophobia. How he can't remember his parents' faces or voices and wonders if he's a bad person. Tony laughs and recounts the numerous failures from trying to create a proper Iron Man suit in his lab. Peter admits to having an Iron Man action figure when he was young (it's still in his closet).

They don't talk about Wade; Tony won't ask how he's been and Peter won't bring him up. It's the truce they've come up with.

They also don't talk about dragons.

They can share things they would only otherwise tell their partners, and sometimes even not. All the bad and the trauma.

Peter wants to tell him about Wade and dragons, especially both together because that always warms his heart, but the topics have become taboo.

" _I saw that video from Angola_ -" Peter tried once.

" _Who hasn't?_ " Tony snapped. Angry at another failure.

" _Maybe it's for the best? I mean, it was just eating fish right? It wasn't doing any harm._ "

" _That thing could have hosed down that town with a breath. Those people were terrified, Peter._ "

" _You sound like Jamieson. Scared of something you don't understand because it's easier_ -"

He said it before thinking about it. He'd take it back if he could.

" _Don't you dare compare me to that idiot._ " Tony was really mad and Peter was instantly guilty. " _How many times have you given second chances? Toomes, Fisk, Osborn, Octavius. You don't have the greatest track record for knowing a person's intentions, human or not. Leave this dragon nonsense to the adults._ "

" _It's not right_." Peter had said, softly, trying not to set him off any further but not knowing when to back down. " _They can't even speak for themselves, what if_ -"

" _These things are a terror and I'll deal with them the way I see fit._ "

" _Or the way you're told too!_ "

" _That's enough, Peter! I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth about these dragons, understood?_ "

He'd stormed off with his eyes burning and that had been the end of that.

Now anytime there's a sighting or another failed attempt at capture, neither mention it. It's for the best.

Peter cleans up Dum-E, he would have anyway, and then goes to his desk to work on his latest project. It's hard to believe he gets paid to do the things he loves with his role model.

An alert sounds an hour later about another sighting. He and Tony share a look.

The Avengers rally; Peter gets left behind.

The Avengers go one way, he goes another.

That's four in ten months. The cycle is pressing on and he has to follow or be left behind.

Friday sends him a video. It originates from Sweden; she's (he can spot that a lot easier now) a forest green and is filmed flying over mountains towards Norway.

He gets there first.

He guides her to the nest, flying over the Avenger's jet. Not much on earth can fly faster than that jet, and despite the numerous failures, the governments have no better options. Wakanda has refused to take part in any of it and they're the only ones who may have better speed.

She doesn't have a name. She's been in the Scandinavian mountains for too long and has never met a Dragon Lord. Peter calls her Hap. It's the Norwegian word for hope.

Norway should have been her home, he wants to give her something of the place she'd chosen even though she's stuck inside an underground nesting ground for dragons.

Hap understands the necessity, but there's guilt hammering in his chest. For her, for all of them.

The truth is - he's scared.

For the smaller dragons, he could possibly guide them to quieter places, but then his mind buzzes with ' _what if_ 's and he can't bring himself to do it.

He could take Maris to another swamp, but what if they're seen. What if she gets caught. What if it's not safe enough. What if he chooses wrong.

A couple of weeks after bringing Hap to the nest, Wade gifts him a sword.

He attaches it to the belt on his riding suit. It doesn't quite meet his thigh and Wade knows he's not one for stabbing people, but he claims it'll complete the outfit. It's beautiful; Wade made the blade out of whatever he'd used for his own katanas (it cuts through his webbing but Wade won't say what it is, exactly). The hilt and scabbard are decorated in scale paint.

That's what he'd wanted it for.

There's Blue's black scales, Pyrite's silver, Mio's pink, Aithusa's gold, Evangelico's red, Tangier's sandy yellow, Maris' murky green, and Lintu's light grey. There's even the addition of one of Hap's green scales pressed into the front of the hilt. It feels like a symbol.

He'd had hope that he would save her, and perhaps he can save all of them.

Peter kisses Wade in gratitude, warmed by the gesture of the gift. There was no reason for it; only love and dedication. Wade believes in him; even when he can't believe in himself. He'll hold him as he wakes from a nightmare about Tony pressing a gun to Blue's head in what always feels like the end of everything he's ever held dear.

Peter is wondering about life after graduation, thinking about where his work at Stark Industries will lead him, considering proposing.

Peter is twenty-two years old when the Avengers find the nest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! The outfit is heavily HTTYD inspired if you weren't sure.
> 
> So, uh, plothole located? In my head, Peter stopped at home at the end of the last chapter to change, and I realized after the comments that I didn't actually write that. Welp. 
> 
> Crazy stuff is going on though, so please enjoy! The next chappie is cray-cray.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready for this? (Insert Space Jam theme).
> 
> Enjoy :D

Wade is called over to the Tower. It's a Tuesday afternoon. He assumes Peter's been notified and will meet him there. He doesn't.

The Tower's robot leads him to an office and several Avengers await him. Tony, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Rhodey, and Sam. The Avengers don't group up unless it's important.

He wonders how long until Peter joins them. He won't.

"After nearly a decade of following these things we finally have a lead." Tony places a piece of paper on the table.

It's a blurry satellite image, but Wade knows exactly what it's depicting.

Peter in his riding gear on a black dragon flying through a waterfall.

"What's that?" He asks, acting clueless.

"Some of these things live here. From what we've gathered, it looks like it's a one entrance hiding place. We go there and we wipe them out once and for all."

It's luck, back luck, that caused this. They're fucked over by luck, of all things. That chaotic Parker luck.

A satellite floating in space often caught multiple images of the island, but the one time it catches activity also happens to be the time someone's looking over it. The dragon is seen, conclusions are made, and the responsibility gets shifted over to the Avengers.

Wade hopes Tony won't drag Peter into this.

He doesn't; the subject is taboo, after all.

"You guys couldn't hurt them last time," Wade points out.

If Peter doesn't make it in time, those dragons may kill the Avengers and that's not much better than if it goes the other way around.

"We have a few surprises in store, don't you worry about that."

"Then why am I here? I'm not an Avenger." Wade's buying time. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and texts under the table. He's learned how to do this inconspicuously.

"Thought you'd be up for killing a bunch of monsters."

"Of course. Where's Petey?"

The Avengers know Peter is Spider-Man. They also know he's dating Deadpool. Wade's a bit of a bragger.

Tony's lips purse, "He's not interested in this, as you should know. Let's go."

There's only so much distracting he can do before they decide to leave him behind. He goes with them. He knows the nest, has been going there for three years, and he knows what he'll find. He hopes to give Peter time.

From: Wade  
 _They found the nest. We're leaving soon. You need to hurry._

His phone shows that the message is read but Peter doesn't respond.

He adds once they're walking to the jet.

From: Wade  
 _I'll try to slow them down._  
 _I don't know what to do._  
 _I'm sorry._  
 _I love you._

They all come up as 'read' but no responses.

Peter's too busy.

It's the middle of July. He's on his way home from the lab, he's often there nowadays without Tony pretending to monitor him, when he gets the first text. He runs the rest of the way and Blue meets him at their apartment. He changes hurriedly into his riding gear, strapping Wade's gifted sword to his belt. Pyrite wraps around his waist and he climbs Blue's back and then they're flying.

The jet is faster than Blue, but not by much.

He's uncertain about what kind of headstart they have on him. He thinks quickly and makes a choice.

She flies him to the Sanctuary and he bursts through the doors without knocking. He and Stephen have interacted several times over the past few years, they know each other well enough that he's not embarrassed about his behaviour.

Blue lands in the entrance hallway and he jumps off her back. He pulls off his mask and runs up the stairs shouting, "Dr. Strange?! Dr. Strange! It's me, Peter! I need your help!"

There are a few rooms he prefers and he goes through them. Stephen meets him in the middle of a hallway and stares at him calmly, arms crossed.

"Hello, Peter. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

His body language screams disinterest, but Peter's learned to see beyond that. There's a shine in his eyes that indicates curiousity.

He can't decide what he wants. He paces the hallway.

"I don't know, I don't know... I need that last portal you said you'd give me but I just..."

Stephen says nothing.

Peter paces. His eyes are round and wild, thoughts whirling inside his head. They're burning, but he fights back the tears.

"I can portal to the nest, but I might have to fight the Avengers and I can't win that, or I can have you open the portal from the nest somewhere else, but..." Peter steps back and forth, ignoring Stephen and mumbling to himself, "I don't know where to send them. And what if the Avengers are already there? They'll follow right through and that won't solve the problem. I don't know, I don't know..."

He falls to his knees. He's at a loss.

The palm of his hands press against his temples and he tries to think. He's smart, so the Avengers say.

"Peter..." Stephen only says his name; he can't think of anything else to say.

"I don't know what to do, Dr. Strange!" Peter cries, "I can't do this, I can't!"

He doesn't know how they found the nest. He doesn't know how many are there. He doesn't know anything.

He's overwhelmed.

Blue nudges at his elbow, frightened by his behaviour.

"What's most important right now?" Stephen asks him, guiding him in the right direction.

"Saving the dragons," Peter responds instantly.

"And how can you do this?"

"I don't know," he answers immediately. Then he pauses and thinks. "I have to fight them. There's no other choice, is there?"

Peter doesn't think he can defeat any of them one on one, let alone a group of them, but he has his dragons to protect and he has to try.

"Can you open a portal for me? On the other side of the island, so they won't see me if they're already there."

Stephen's response is a red portal; he can see trees and hear the ocean through it.

Peter pulls himself to his feet. He holds his head up high, puts his mask back on, and sets his shoulders back. He has a battle to win.

He and Blue walk through it and then it blinks out of existence.

The Avengers get there first; Wade can tell by the bad feeling in his chest and the lack of activity on the island. The jet is quiet as it lands and Tony turns to them with a look that's a little manic. This is his chance to turn the tide against these creatures, he refuses to screw up.

"We're going in there quietly. I don't want these things knowing we're here until it's too late. Got it, Deadpool?"

"Roger that, Capitaine." He's going for casual.

"I want everyone using everything they've got against them; we're not going home without dragon heads."

They're all in agreement. None of them think twice about what they're agreeing to.

These are big, wild, and dangerous animals that don't belong on earth.

They leave the jet and the waterfall is visible right away. Natasha guides them through the foliage, the best of them in stealth, and tells them where to walk. The dragons will have no way of knowing they're approaching. They can catch fish out of the ocean and smell the gunpowder on his clothes (they hate it), but their hearing is as good as a human's, if only mildly better.

Sometimes, they're so at peace they get surprised when Peter shows up, even with Blue there as a beacon.

Wade's never noticed that there's a path from the ground to the waterfall on the side of the cliff. It's not perfect, there are narrow gaps and bumpy steps, but it gets them up anyway. If he'd noticed, he'd have taken the time to block it. It's too late now; he feels that irrational guilt like a punch to the stomach.

Steve lifts his shield to block the water and they walk under his arm into the cave beyond it. The curtain of water blocks out the sound outside and they can hear the dragons now.

Wade knows those sounds. Wind rustling from the swoosh of tails and wings, thumps from the heavier dragons walking around, playful growls of them playing. They're eating and lapping at water like it's any other day.

"What now?" He asks, his voice as loud of a whisper as he can get away with.

Tony shoots him a look of annoyance.

Wade's not the kind of guy who cares about getting his boyfriend's parent's approval, but he cares that Peter cares and he _does_ try. Even when it's hard and he knows it's not going to go anywhere. Tony is determined to hate him, no matter what he does. He has a feeling today's only going to make things worse.

There's no answer to his question and he slips to the back of the group.

He pulls out his phone and shoots off another text.

From: Wade  
 _We're here. I don't know what to do. I can alert the babies, but if they know I'm involved they might connect it to you._

From: Petey  
 _I'm right outside._  
 _Do whatever you need to._  
 _I trust you._

That's all the go-ahead he needs.

No one's paying him any attention. They're all focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, literally.

He pulls out one of his guns and pretends to fiddle with it. He's not about to give himself away completely, but his reputation gives him a lot of room for error.

With a forced shout, he trips on nothing and falls face first in the dirt. His finger presses on the gun's trigger and Steve blocks the bullet with his shield. The ricochet is loud and rings through the tunnel and out to the dragons.

The growling goes from playful to angry.

"What the hell, Wilson?" Tony snaps.

There's no time for yelling.

The suit wraps around him and then Iron Man is flying to the end of the tunnel with the other Avengers at his heels. One of the dragons, Mio, flies up and shoots a ball of flames into the opening. It's a bright blue and fiercely warm, Wade's sweating from several feet away from where it landed.

Tony picks up Clint and they fly out first, Rhodey and Sam aren't far behind. Steve and Natasha jump into the cave and Wade stays with them.

There are edges in the cliffs around them that a couple of the dragons are lounging on for heat and they stay there, ears down and teeth bared.

Aithusa takes the lead; her roar is loud and shakes the island.

Wade can see a moment of hesitation in the Avengers. They weren't expecting a pack. Their comms are active and Steve starts sending out orders. Everyone kicks into gear.

Aithusa stands, her body takes up half the cave when she isn't curled up, and her tail swings out to swipe them away. Most of them dodge, only Steve gets hit and he takes the brunt of the force and gets knocked back into the wall. Clint shoots an arrow and her wing knocks it out of the air. She snaps at Rhodey, flying a little to close to her jaws.

Wade knows she wouldn't actually bite him. Rhodey doesn't know that, none of them do.

Natasha launches a Widow Bite at Tangier. It sticks to the scales on his left wing and sends a jolt of electricity through him. He turns in circles, growling and trying to get it off, and his tail and wings need to be avoided.

The old version wouldn't have even stuck, but Tony had made some upgrades. It's not enough to knock him out, though, and he manages to pull it off his wing and turns to her with rage in his brown eyes. His wing flutters, but he doesn't take to the skies. It's numb and unreliable.

Steve stands by her to fight him back.

Rhodey is weaving around Aithusa. He gets a shot in at the underside of her right wing and Wade sees smoke. That shouldn't happen.

Her two wings move up and then slam down; the wind created by the strength of it swirls through the wind and tears out leaves and pushes them nearly off balance. Wade catches a glimpse of where Rhodey's shot hit. The underside of their wings have scales, but aren't as thick and have a softer flesh. It's red and blistering.

These dragons need to get out of here.

Wade turns to Natasha, wondering how to get rid of her, when a shot of purple fire lands between her and Tangier.

Everyone looks up, even the dragons.

On the edge of the entrance is a black dragon, mouth open and ready to send off another shot. On her back sits the dragon rider.

Blue jumps off the ledge and spreads her wings. Her second shot lands next to Sam and makes him duck for cover. She lands heavily on the ground and there's a pause, for a second, as everyone is staring at him.

The Avengers want answers, the dragons want direction.

Peter lifts his hand high in the air, in sight of all of them, and the dragons grow silent.

When he's certain all the Avengers can see him, he links his two index fingers together and moves his hands. He signs the word 'friend'. Tony accused him of giving too many second chances, but he has to try. No one needs to get hurt any more than they already have.

Between Peter's spidey senses and Blue's agility, they dodge Tony's blaster shot easily.

His voice comes through all the comms and Peter can catch the words with his super hearing.

"We need to take that guy out first. Somehow he can control these things and we're not going to get anywhere if they're organized. Cut off the head and this whole thing is ours."

Peter doesn't need to hear everyone agree with those words, but that's out of his control. He cares about these people, admires and respects them. He doesn't want that to waver because they're on opposite sides of a battle.

" _Fight back, but no one dies. Understood?_ "

Aithusa spreads his message.

To turn Tony's words back at him, Peter knows he needs to do something about him first. Any plan he can come up with, he'll find a way around it. He can't outsmart Tony Stark.

Tony has likely already memorized how many dragons are there, what their faces look like, the way they move and any apparent weaknesses and strengths. He's making a catalog.

He's also guarding the exit, staying within range in case the dragons try to escape. It's a smart move, keeping them all contained like this. Aithusa on her own can hardly maneuver in the area, let alone adding several other dragons to the mix.

Peter's priority is getting Tony away from that exit and keeping him occupied while the dragons escape.

Clint shoots another arrow and it pierces through Aithusa's wing. It's a small hole in a large expanse of space, it likely feels like getting an ear pierced for her, but his heart races and his hands shake. That's not supposed to happen.

She roars and her head moves to snap at him. Clint's found a perch and has nowhere to hide. She could eat him whole in one bite, but she stops and growls in his face. His cheeks have grown pale and he doesn't reach back for another arrow despite the opportunity.

Peter would be scared too if she was looking at him like that.

Lintu is a smaller dragon, in comparison, but is still as big as a dog. He's quiet though and crawls over the cliff walls with no one noticing him. He creeps up behind Natasha. She can't hear him over the sounds of angry dragons and he strikes; his tail, with a venomous stinger on the tip, embeds in the back of her thigh.

His tail pulls back and he flies off.

She falls to one knee, her leg completely numbed by the venom. Peter spots her fall and is glad she'll be less of a concern. It won't kill her, only keep her paralyzed for a long while.

A lot of the grass is scorched, a few of the trees are on fire. The air is getting thicker with smoke.

Tangier is spouting flames and Steve is dodging him. He slams his shield into his side and the dragon retaliates by knocking him back with his tail.

" _The one in red, get him away from the exit._ "

Mio takes up on his order, passed on by Aithusa. Her skin is thicker than theirs and she has large spikes around her face, she has no concerns about slamming into his armor and knocking him out of the sky. Tony blasts her in the side but it doesn't even make her flinch. He's forced to land.

Wade is near them. He knows Mio won't hurt him and is more concerned about staying out of Tony's way.

"Stark! Look around you! There aren't any skeletons or corpses. These dragons are just trying to live."

All the dragons know who Tony Stark is; Peter is vocal about the people he loves, and Mio is hesitant to attack him again. They're in a standoff.

Tony looks at him, the panel covering his face and his expression.

"I see Peter's gotten into your head."

"Yeah, and what do you think he'd say if he saw you like this? You came into their home guns blazing like a fucking terrorist. He'd be ashamed of you."

"Don't you dare bring up my-" Tony uses a different word though it means the same thing, "My kid. Peter's a sweet kid and he doesn't know what needs to be done. I do. You don't even have the fucking right to say his name."

"Fuck you, Stark. I hope you feel good about yourself right now."

Tony turns back to Mio, and out of his sight, Wade gestures to her. She gets the message and launches herself at Tony, head ducked and spikes pointed out. His thrusters launch him up and out of her way. She turns around and her fire comes out blue and the heat of it melts some of the paint off his armor.

The air around them blurs like a desert heat

Wade leaves them and takes advantage of Natasha's current paralysis to wrestle her weapons off her. He doesn't want to know what Tony's done to these weapons to make them effective against the dragons.

Peter blinks back tears while pretending he hasn't heard Tony and Wade's argument. He has a similar idea as Wade and has Blue fly up to Clint. He needs to get those arrows off him. Aithusa's tail is flicking wildly and she's still facing him, creating a helpful distraction.

The cliff he's standing on isn't large enough for Blue to land, so he slips off her back to stand beside him. Clint faces him, bow in hand like a weapon. Peter ducks, dodging a shot from Tony's blaster that he'd launched over Mio's shoulder. Rocks tumble at their feet.

He takes advantage of the moment. He throws himself forward against Clint and knocks both of them over the edge. It's not high enough to cause him any harm and he rolls to protect Clint. In the tussle, he snaps the strap holding the quiver in place and tosses it aside. Blue hits it with a shot of fire before he can tell her not to.

Some of the arrows are combustible.

They explode.

His suit protects him from the flames and he shields Clint. The area around them is on fire now and more rocks are rolling down the cliffside. No one else had been close enough to get hurt.

Peter steps back from Clint and climbs back on Blue.

He guides her next to Sam, currently keeping out of range of Lintu's tail and dodging Evangelico's fireballs. Neither of them has been shot, thankfully.

He's fought Sam once before. In Germany. He'd lost then, he won't lose now.

" _While Tony's busy fighting Mio, have someone leave through the exit. If everyone gets out of here quickly, you can all fly somewhere safe and I'll stay behind to fight them off._ "

Aithusa's attention has gone from Clint to Steve, still fighting Tangier. Her order rings out but no one moves.

Peter drops off Blue's back onto Sam's.

" _Why is no one leaving? Hap can go, no one's looking at her._ " The green dragon is on a ledge, staying away from the fighting. There's no room for her.

He wraps his legs around his waist and holds on tight no matter how he jerks around. Evangelico and Lintu draw back to keep from hurting him on accident.

" _None of us will leave you, young Rider. Not with these people and their weapons._ "

" _You have to._ "

" _They'll kill you._ "

Peter can't say they won't. He doesn't respond.

Pyrite, always wrapped around his waist, sneaks his head out and tugs Sam's guns out of their holsters and throws them aside.

He tears open the cover on Sam's wings to get to its insides. Sam flies backward, slamming Peter back against the wall to try and dislodge him. It'll bruise, but he keeps working. He tugs at wires and some of the metal bends to his strength. The wings stop functioning and they fall fast and hard.

When he stands, a blast hits him in the back and it throws him off his feet. His back is killing him, but his armor took most of the impact. He's on his stomach next to Sam and has to roll out of the way of a punch. Over his shoulder, he sees Tony with one of his blasters aimed his way.

He pushes himself to his feet again and quickly climbs onto Blue's back to get into the air. He doesn't want to risk a hand-to-hand fight with Sam.

Not much time has passed, he knows this from having been in a lot of these kinds of fights, although not usually against his own ally's. Neither side has taken much damage yet. Rhodey has left Aithusa and is fighting Mio. Which means Tony is...

" _I'm willing to die to see you all safe. Get to safety! I can't fight them all._ "

A hard body slams into his. Blue flies out from under him and he's pushed into a wall with Tony's hand pressed firmly against his chest to hold him still.

His hands fly up to cling to the metal over Tony's wrist to give himself some support. He spots Blue over his shoulder but she doesn't attack. None of the dragons will risk killing Tony, even though his goal is to kill them all.

Aithusa's always been their leader, but they listen to the Dragon Lord out of respect. He's grateful for it, but almost wishes they would get angry and do more to protect themselves.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you fighting with these things?" Tony pulls him off the wall and slams him back.

Peter can feel the vibrations off the metal; his hand is shaking inside the suit.

All it would take is one word and Tony would know who he is. He could take that risk. He could peel off his mask and let them see his face.

They won't stop until these dragons are dead, revealing himself will only give away his weaknesses.

Most people wouldn't have a lot of options in this situation. The Iron Man suit is built like a tank. Peter isn't most people. He keeps his grip on his wrist tight and lifts himself up just enough. He kicks out, not with all of his strength but all that he needs. Tony goes flying back, the metal plates of his stomach slightly indented. There are marks on his armor from Mio's spikes, some of the red paint is dripping down and the grey metal is visible. He's battered.

Peter falls and Blue catches him.

He looks down and locks eyes with Wade. Though they're both wearing masks, Peter knows there's sympathy in his eyes.

Wade and Natasha are still fighting, Steve is trying to help but Tangier isn't giving him room to breathe.

Tony's stubborn.

He comes right back and they circle each other, Peter can't risk giving him anything but his full focus.

If Tony kills him today, what will he think when he takes off the mask and sees that it's been him this whole time? Peter thinks about this as he dodges a strike.

The dragons won't leave him. He won't leave them. Some of the Avengers are down, but it's not enough. He's scared.

Getting Tony, Rhodey, and Sam grounded is his newest priority. If they can't fly, they can't follow after the dragons. Sam's down, and now he needs to see what he can do to Tony's suit. He goes for a similar plan.

Peter stands on Blue's back as she flies. He moves to her lower back and she gives him a boost into the air. He gets launched over Tony's head and latches on to his back. The momentum throws them both off balance, but he holds on and Tony steadies himself.

The sound of a shot echoes. There have been a few shots, he doesn't know why this one is so loud.

He feels a pressure in his chest; he knows what it's like to be shot and it's a phantom of that pain. Aithusa roars loudly, her pain reverberates through his head. He looks at her over Tony's shoulder.

She falls. There are two bullet holes in her chest. Her tail hits the water and the wave puts out the fire spreading through half the cave. Her body hits the ground and the island shakes.

Peter whispers to the suit, low enough that Tony can't hear him but Friday can, "Input override code 7001. Suit power off."

It listens. Suddenly the repulsors stop and he's falling. Peter whistles once looking in Hap's direction, she flies to him and her claws wrap around his wrist. She spreads her wings wide and hovers them both to the ground. He gestures for Blue to make sure Tony lands safely, and then he's rushing to Aithusa's side.

He doesn't know who shot her. Most of them have guns and he doesn't care to pinpoint blame because they're all at fault.

She's laying on her side and he looks over the wounds on her chest. They're deep; he doesn't know what the bullets are made of. Her blood is blue. He wishes he didn't know that.

He presses his hand against the wound to stop the blood flow, " _It's okay,_ " he thinks to reassure her, " _We'll get this fixed up, don't you worry._ "

" _Fly, young Rider._ "

Blue flies under Tony's falling figure and carries him on her back until they get close enough to ground. She turns and lets him roll off her back.

"What the hell Friday! Power on!"

The suit flickers back to life.

"What happened?" Tony asks.

Wade leaves Natasha and walks up to Peter. He kneels down and pulls Peter's hands away from the wound to inspect it.

" _We're not leaving you,_ " Peter tells her.

Smoke is rising from the remains of what was their home. There's still a scattering of flames from the trees and flowers and berries, but there will be nothing left once it tampers off.

The other dragons stop what they're doing. Lintu and Evangelico leave Sam, Tangier leaves Steve, Mio leaves Rhodey. Maris crawls out of the pond. Pyrite, Hap, and Blue stay by his side. They circle around Aithusa and howl.

The Avengers watch, fascinated and confused.

Peter shakes his head. Why are they howling? There's no need for that.

"I think..." Wade hesitates. Peter stares at the gold scales and doesn't say anything. He continues, "I think it hit a lung. It's too deep, I..."

Peter looks down and starts searching through his pouches. There's nothing useful; nothing that can help.

" _Go, young Rider. They will follow you_."

"Stop talking like that," he says out loud. No one but Wade is close enough to hear it.

Sam gathers his guns and steps over to Steve's side. Rhodey lands next to Natasha, still on one knee as the other leg remains numb. Clint walks over to join them with his bow but no arrows. Tony's suit is back online and he stands. They're all near each other and watching.

"The suit was turned off using the override code." The comms on the suit is turned off so that only Tony can hear Friday.

"How is that possible?"

"Voice recognition was positive, sir."

Only four people know that override code and can activate Friday's voice recognition software. Himself, Pepper, Rhodey, and Peter. He hadn't done it, Pepper and Peter aren't around, and Rhodey obviously hadn't activated it. Tony watches the person in the weird scale outfit coddle the dying dragon and wonders how they messed with Friday.

"It was a match to who?" He asks.

Tony already knows what she's going to say.

Wade stands beside this person, inspecting the injuries and seeming concerned. Deadpool isn't kind. Not to strangers. He'd purposely alerted the dragons and had been fighting against them this whole time. If Wade was involved...

"It's Peter, sir."

The suit around him slips away like it had never been there in the first place. He stares at the person wearing a mask with dragon-like designs and suit made from scales and he can see it. He can see Peter in that outfit; see him as a dragon tamer, as a boy smart enough to make that sort of clothing, as a kid brave enough to stand against the Avengers.

He'd shot at him. He'd hurt him.

His hands shake at his sides.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Rhodey and Steve looking at him.

He takes one step forward and stops.

"Why do I feel like we did the wrong thing?" Rhodey asks, voice low only for Tony to hear.

"Because we did," he admits.

Peter starts crying.

"Please, please Aithusa, you can't... We'll get these out and then Pyrite can heal you. Like he did for me."

"There's nothing I can do, I'm sorry," Wade says.

Tony forces himself to walk closer. He asks, "Is there anything I can do?" His words come out sounding small; it's a good representation of how he feels.

Peter pulls away from Aithusa and turns to him. He pulls off the mask so that they can see his face and his words come out clear.

"I think you've done enough." His eyes are wide and wild and fierce. His lips are drawn in a snarl. He's never worn an expression like that before.

The Avengers are silent. Tony takes a step back. He's drained.

" _Take care, young Rider. They will need you._ "

Peter turns away from the Avengers and returns to his dragon. The others are howling or whimpering, sitting near her but giving him space. The battle is over, but at what cost?

"I can't do this without you," Peter says. He lifts her head and lays it in his lap. It'd be comical if it weren't so sad. She doesn't fit, of course, but Peter doesn't know how else to comfort her. He presses his forehead against the top of her head and lets himself cry.

"I have lived too long already. Take charge, little one, and you will save us. I believe in you."

Wade steps back. He pulls off his own mask and kneels down as a sign of respect. He knows she's dying even if Peter won't accept it. The dragons follow his lead. They lay on the ground and place their heads to the ground. There are tears in his eyes and he doesn't stop them.

"Please don't leave me," he whispers.

She fades.

It takes a minute or so, but it feels like a lifetime to Peter. Her body pales and loses colour, and suddenly she's gone. Literally. The weight on his laps disappears and there isn't a trace of her left.

The gold in his armour is gone as if she had never existed in the first place.

All of the dragons howl at once in grief.

Peter falls to his hands and knees. There's a pain in his chest as if he'd been struck and a part of him had just died. It had, he knows.

What is he, without her to guide him?

He feels her pain like it's his own, he can feel her being torn away from him and he _screams_.

It melds with the howls.

"What do we do, Tones?" Rhodey asks. He can't whisper and be heard over the noise at the same time. Raising his voice feels disrespectful.

It's too long before Peter stops screaming. His forehead is pressed into the earth and his shoulders are shaking with sobs. The dragons are howling incessantly.

Tony doesn't answer. His eyes are locked in on Peter. Rhodey knows there's nothing he can say to make this better.

Steve steps closer and is clearly hesitant as he says, "I understand the difficulty of this situation, Tony, but I-"

"You don't understand anything," he snaps.

"We should finish what we started," Steve continues. "I know Peter means a great deal to you, but these creatures are still dangerous. This isn't easy for you, I know that, but you can't let bias-"

"Hippocrite, much?"

The dragons are agitated, growling and howling and snapping their teeth and flicking their tails. What isn't on fire is now ashes. They don't look kind or gentle in this environment. How much damage could they have done outside of this cave? How many innocent people could have been hurt? That's Steve's priority.

Tony's is Peter.

One of the dragons veers off from the group. It's the one they'd lost in the desert. They don't know that his name is Tangier, but they see his lips draw back and his razor-sharp teeth. He's nearly as big as a house and any of them could fit between its jaws.

His claws dig into the dirt with each step, tearing the earth and sending up ash. He breathes out sharply and smoke comes out of his nose. His eyes are zeroed in on the guns in Sam's hands.

Clint had seen some nature documentaries in his day and knows the look of a hunting predator when he sees it.

Peter doesn't notice, struck still by grief.

Wade is the one that stands. He slips in front of Tangier and holds up his hands in a gesture of peace. The other dragons appear nervous, wings beating and eyes wandering.

"Hey, buddy. It's me. You know me." Wade's mask is on the ground and the dragons know his face. "I know you're upset, but we're not killing anybody. That's the rules."

Tangier huffs and takes a couple of steps forward. Wade steps back. There's still some distance between him and the Avengers, but they're starting to tense for combat.

Wade looks over his shoulder at them and moves one of his hands to them, "Just stay back. You bring out that gun and I'll bring out mine. Which of us is the quicker draw?" Natasha's hand moves back from her holster with a glare. He looks back at the dragon, "Alright, Tangier, time to go back to Peter. We'll get you all out of here safe and sound."

The dragon growls, spit dribbles out of his mouth and Wade can see the start of fire in the back of his throat.

The others still and watch.

He realizes, at that moment, what's going on.

"Pete! Petey! You gotta call off Tangier, he's not going to listen to me." He's getting a bit scared and takes another step back. Tangier won't hurt him, he's mostly confident about that, but he's not confident he won't knock him down to get what he wants.

Peter sits back on his heels but doesn't say a word. His eyes are glued to a berry bush on fire across the pond. He's as lost as they all are.

Steve lifts his shield, "We have to kill it, Tony. Imagine what it would do in a city."

"If you assholes had just left them alone you wouldn't have to worry about it!" Wade snaps. He shakes his head; he needs to get Peter's attention first. "Baby, I need your help here. Aithusa was their alpha and without her, they have no guidance and with no one to make the rules..."

Tangier is making his own rules now. He wants the Avengers dead and there's no one telling him not to. Wade had known Aithusa was their leader but hadn't seen how deep that went.

The dragons are still animals, they function as a pack and have a functional hierarchy.

None of the others seem inclined to make him stop; they're content to let him take on the role of their new alpha. Wade spots Blue, stuck between watching over Peter and wanting to help him. In the dragon world, she's still a baby and she's scared to go against him on her own.

"This might be a good time to retreat," Clint says. He makes as if to walk away and suddenly a ball of fire lands in his path. "Nevermind, then..." He huddles back into the group.

Tangier is still approaching, slowly.

The Avengers are pressing themselves together, Sam is helping a limping Natasha and Rhodey is tugging Tony back.

"Blue, can you..." Wade doesn't tear his eyes off Tangier and makes a vague hand gesture in her direction.

Right now, him being in the way is the only defense the Avengers have from an angry, murderous dragon.

Blue sniffs at Peter's hand until he moves it to pet her. She nudges his face to get his attention.

The real world is back again. He blinks, focusing on the words Wade has just said. His eyes are burning, rage is hammering in his chest and he wants to scream and fight and break things.

Peter stands. All of the dragons look at him, except for Tangier. He looks at each of them in turn, locks eyes with them until they lower their heads in submission. He feels their sadness and still feels Aithusa's loss in his soul.

He doesn't move, doesn't look over at the prowling dragon. He only speaks. His tone is harsh and strict. It's a leader's voice because that's what they need him to be. There's no time to mourn, just yet.

" _Tangier, enough!_ " He says it loud and clear.

The dragon pauses. His lips draw closed but he doesn't submit.

Peter turns to face him. He says, "Tangier, that is _enough_. Stand down."

Tangier's eyes lock on the Dragon Lord's and he crumbles. He retreats and returns to the other dragons with their new leadership decided. Peter watches carefully until he sits and bows his head. Wade sighs in relief.

Peter looks next to Tony, who meets his gaze with sadness.

He draws his sword and points it at him. Peter isn't violent, he's never stabbed anyone in his life and doesn't want to. He will if he needs to.

"Her name was Aithusa," he says. Everyone is quiet, dragons included. "She was ten's of thousands of years old and the oldest living dragon. And today you killed her because you're ignorant and selfish and so determined to relieve your guilt that you're willing to surrender your own humanity to please people who don't care about you outside of what you can do for them."

There's no blood on his hands, it faded with her body. He thinks it makes it worse to remember a being who'd left nothing behind to show for her life.

"The next person to take aim at one of my dragons dies. Do you understand, or do I need to sign it for you? Although you're not any good at understanding that, either." The sword is shaking in his hand. Tony isn't looking away and he can see the shimmer in his eyes. "Now get the fuck off my island."

None of the Avengers are inclined to doubt the conviction of his threat and are willing to turn tail and run. Even Steve, who still believes there to be value in the mission, turns to leave.

Wade steps up to Peter and cautiously reaches for the hand not holding the sword. That one falls to his side.

"I'm sorry, baby boy."

Peter shakes his head. "Don't." He kisses him briefly, "I'll see you at home." His words are soft and broken. He walks away, their hands slipping apart.

He kneels beside Blue and presses his face into her neck.

The Avengers leave without another word and Wade goes with them. Peter stays on his knees until they're gone and they're all alone once more.

Their home is gone. The fires have gone out and there's nothing left standing. His little hut, his workstation, the trees, and the bushes. Aithusa is dead. The oldest living dragon is gone and now he's all on his own to take care of those that are left behind. He has to be their leader because none of them are ready for that responsibility.

He still doesn't know what to do, but after so many years he's learned to pretend he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, one of the first scenes I had in my head for this story is him holding the sword out threatening them and it is finally here.
> 
> And them realizing it's been Peter the whole time.
> 
> This chapter means a lot to me. I would really love to hear your thoughts on this one!
> 
> Two points for anyone who knows what the code 7001 stands for :P


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bask in your tears.
> 
> (But seriously, THANK YOU! It means the world to know that the last chapter affected some people as it did!)
> 
> Enjoy :)

" **... ...** "

The jet flies off the island and all its occupants are quiet.

Ton is sitting at its front, grip tight and white around the steering. Everyone else is seated along the two walls with their weapons tucked away.

As the jet straightens out in the sky, Clint is the first to speak in the tense silence.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He's looking at Wade, seated on the opposite side to him.

The air around them electrifies at what sounds like an accusation. Wade stands, pulling out one of his katanas and pointing it at Clint.

"Don't you dare fucking blame me, Barton!" No one has ever heard Deadpool sound this angry before. "If you assholes weren't such self-centered, egotistical-"

They're prepared for a rant, not wholly undeserved, but Tony spins in his chair and his hands are gripping the armrests tightly. His eyes are cold.

"Sit your ass down, Wade. And shut up, Clint." He doesn't watch them long enough to see if they'll listen, but he knows they will. He turns back around and stares out of the window.

If anyone's to blame, it's him. He's not interested in chatting right now.

Steve has his head down and his shield is set in the wall behind him. Rhodey and Sam are out of their suits and taking turns looking at their phones and glancing around the room. Natasha and Clint are sitting side by side, staring ahead and sitting still. Wade takes his seat next to Steve and fiddles with his gun.

They're all keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't start shooting up the jet. Without Peter around to calm him, they can't be sure he won't. After today, they can't be sure they'll be safe around Peter without Wade around either.

Several minutes go by until Natasha stands. Her leg tingles but there's enough feeling in it for her to walk. She doesn't look at anyone in particular. She starts opening the compartments in the walls; most of them contain food or weapons. Miscellaneous equipment. When she can't find what she's looking for, she moves onto the next, and then the next.

Tony loses patience, "What are you looking for?"

She's standing in front of Rhodey, digging around in the compartment over his head. He leans back and gives her space. Her lips are drawn in a thin line and her eyes are shadowed.

"Where's your whiskey, Tony?"

"Why do you want that?" Clint asks.

She stops and her head falls forward. Rhodey can see her eyes close and the tight grip she has on the compartment's handle. She takes a deep breath and says, "It's just crossed my mind that three years ago I shot Peter. _I shot Peter_." She repeats, tone coming out rough. "I could have killed him. And I'd really like a drink to get my mind off of that."

"Here." Clint pulls open a drawer beneath his seat and pulls out a brown bottle.

None of them comment on her words.

Any of them could have killed Peter; she was the only one whose blow had landed.

She nods in gratitude and takes her seat again. She pops open the bottle and takes a long swig. She can't get drunk easily, they all know that. They don't comment on that either.

Clint takes it from her and drinks too. He stands and brings it over to Wade; he holds it out as a peace offering.

"Here. And sorry. It's easy to think we would have done differently if we'd known, but... I'm not sure we would have."

Though Spider-Man is clearly the best Avenger (even if he isn't an Avenger) Wade doesn't dislike any of them. They're cool and powerful and they do good work; he respects them to some degree. He mumbles a "thanks," and takes the bottle.

He hates them, a little bit, for attacking the dragons and putting that dark look in Peter's eyes.

He passes it on to Steve and it makes its way around the room. Tony doesn't look back at them, he's studiously ignoring them and their words.

"I'm sorry for suggesting we should still..." Steve doesn't finish the sentence, they know what he's talking about.

"Does that mean we're not going after the dragons anymore? What are we supposed to tell the officials, ' _we decided they're not so bad after all_ '?" Sam asks.

"We can't go after them," Rhodey responds. He sips the whiskey and hands it off to the next in line. "We'd have to kill Peter to get to one of those dragons, and there's no killing Peter without killing Tones and Deadpool, and it's not like Peter would let us kill either of those two without putting up a fight-"

"It'd be a never-ending cycle of self-sacrifice," Clint says with an amused grin.

"And I am _not_ going up to May and telling her we murdered her nephew to get to some dragons," Rhodey adds.

Wade snorts. If it weren't for the whole, ' _Peter being dead'_ thing, he'd love to see that.

"So we're not concerned about these things anymore?" Clint asks.

"I don't know," Steve shrugs. "That thing... It would have killed us. They're not, _not_ , dangerous. Clearly Peter trusts them, but that doesn't mean that's necessarily what's right."

"So are panthers and gorillas, but you don't murder them all just for existing," Wade points out.

His phone buzzes and he reads Peter's text. No one responds to his comment and the jet falls back into silence.

From: Petey  
 _Moving the dragons. I won't be home for a while._

From: Wade  
 _Doesn't look like they'll follow. You have time._

From: Petey  
 _I love you._

From: Wade  
 _Love you too._

Peter doesn't come home for a few days. He uses his burner phone to let Wade know he's alive, but otherwise, there's no knowing when he'll return.

The Avengers alert the officials of their failure. The numbers they provide are inaccurate, Tony doesn't give complete descriptions of what they look like or their strengths and weaknesses. There's an unspoken agreement that they won't proceed without talking to Peter first.

If he's ever willing to speak to them again, that is.

There's too much unknown surrounding the situation. And it's not like Tony would let them go off after dragons when that would mean fighting Peter.

They lay low.

Pepper's home that night and Tony curls into her arms. Their bed is big and soft and right now it makes his skin prickle. It's the onslaught of anxiety making him sensitive. She pushes it down to their waists and lets him press his face into her neck. Her fingers run through his hair comfortingly.

"What's wrong, Tony?" She asks, softly.

He takes a few steadying breaths. They're in no rush. He turns to his side and brings up his phone.

"Friday, bring up the footage of our fight in Morocco."

A hologram pops out of the screen. It comes from the video feed on his suit and he pauses it as the black dragon and its rider appear more clearly. She knows about their battle against the dragons and their human ally. He points to the figure on the dragon's back.

"That's Peter," he tells her.

Her hands tighten their grip, "What?"

"Yeah, I know. Apparently, he trains dragons or something. I almost killed him today."

"Oh, Tony..."

"He's their leader or something because they listen to him, and I told the Avengers that we needed to kill him to get to the dragons. I ordered them to kill Peter, Pep. I tried to kill him. If I'd succeeded, I wouldn't have known it was him until it was too late. What if we'd won? How can I face him again knowing I wanted him dead?"

"You couldn't have known. Peter will understand that."

"I didn't know because he didn't trust me with the truth."

"He loves you, Tony. I could tell him you hung the moon and he'd be willing to believe it. You love _each other_ and you'll get through this together."

"I don't know that we can."

"I'll have enough faith for both of us."

He finally lets himself cry. There's a frame on the wall in his sight of him and Pepper at the wedding they'd finally managed to have. Rhodey is next to Pepper with an arm behind her back (he was poking Tony in the side to make him laugh) and next to her, Tony has an arm thrown over Peter's shoulder, holding him close. They're the only two people from his side of the family at the wedding.

He remembers helping Peter with his tie and cufflinks and he'd done his hair for him. He'd even let him invite Wade as a temporary truce.

He remembers pressing the rider into the wall with full intention to shoot him through the chest and he feels sick.

Pepper rocks him into a fitful sleep.

Wade stays home and keeps an eye on his phone.

Two days after their return, there's a heavy knock on their front door and he opens it with a gun at the ready. The last time a stranger had knocked on his door it had been Peter, handsome and bloody. This time it's Tony Stark.

A very drunk Tony Stark.

"Where's Peter?" He asks.

Wade commends him on his false sobriety. He can smell the booze on his breath and the red of his eyes is telling. The bags under his eyes suggest he probably hasn't slept at all since coming back home. His facial hair is untamed and his hair is disheveled. He keeps running his fingers through it to tame it, but random hairs are sticking out.

Wade's never seen Tony anything less than poised and charming. This makes him pause.

"So? Is he here?"

"No, he hasn't come back yet. And even if he was, I wouldn't let him see you smelling like a walking bar. Did you drive like that?"

"None of your business." Tony pushes by him into the apartment.

Wade peeks out of the doorway and looks side to side to make sure no one had seen him. His reputation leaves him a lot of room for weirdness, but even he couldn't excuse a drunk Tony Stark on his doorstep.

He puts away the gun because he's fairly positive he can take on an Iron Man that can hardly walk a straight line.

"What are their names?" Tony asks.

"What?"

"The dragons? What are they called?"

"I'm not that fucking stupid." Wade follows Tony until he lands safely on the recliner. Assured he won't trip and break his face, Wade sits on the couch adjacent to him so they can look at each other.

"Peter named them, didn't he? Like Fido, or Spot or something? His own little murderous pets." Tony pulls a flask out of his coat. The sloshing noise indicates it's nearly empty.

"What do you _want_ , Stark?" Wade really doesn't want to deal with this.

"The big one's name was Aithusa, that doesn't sound like something Peter would pick up somewhere," Tony ignores him. "Although, I guess I didn't know him like I thought I did."

"He's still the same selfless, kind, generous, beautiful person he's always been; with or without dragons. If you don't see that, I don't know what to tell you."

Tony finishes what's left of his drink.

"How long have you known?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because you knew and I didn't and I thought-" Tony cuts himself off. He throws the empty flask on the table.

Wade understands where this is going. He sighs and stands. He goes to the kitchen and comes back with a new bottle of liquor and two glasses. He pours some out for both of them and tells Tony what he wants to know.

"He didn't tell me if that makes you feel any better. It was an accident. After Black Widow shot him, he came here to get patched up."

"She still can't look me in the eye, like she shot me and not Peter."

"I fixed him all up and left him to get some rest. When I went to check on the bandages, there was this dragon on his stomach and it scared the shit out of me. But it wasn't doing any harm and it actually helped heal him, so I just... dealt with it."

"Right."

"Then we started dating and he introduced me to the other dragons and, I don't know. It just worked out that way. Nobody else knows; he always says it isn't his secret to share."

"So this has been going on for years. Did he tame a dragon when they started showing up? How does someone just... befriend dragons like that?"

"That's not how... He found Blue's egg when he was nine, I think it was. He's got this... dragon blessing thing that makes it his job to protect them. And f.y.i, they've been around a hell of a lot longer than humans and they have a right to be here more than we do."

They take a pause to drink. Wade's not sure how to get across to Tony that this isn't a matter of trust, not really.

"I hate that you knew before me, but what pisses me off more is knowing I would have fucked it up anyway. Even if he'd told me, I wouldn't have taken it well."

"It makes sense that you wouldn't let a kid pet the lion at the zoo, but that doesn't mean you kill the lions or that you don't trust the professionals to take care of them. I know what he means to you, but that doesn't mean you can treat him like he's fifteen forever."

Tony is somehow drunk enough to understand Wade's metaphor.

"I thought I was treating him like an adult," Tony admits. "I _do_ trust him. I wouldn't hand SI off to just anyone and I know he has my back as much as I have his. But he can be really naive, sometimes. And it's maybe because I've known him so long, but if he'd asked me to trust this big-blood thirsty dragon that could knock down a skyscraper with its tail, I would have had some doubts. I still do."

Wade has to finish what's left in his glass before asking, "Woah, woah. What do you mean 'hand over SI'?"

"You know, when I retire or kick the bucket."

"... You're giving Peter Stark Industries?"

"Obviously. Why else would I have him go to those meetings with Pepper? He's way more useful in the lab, but he has to learn that bullshit too."

"Did you ever tell him that?" Wade wants to strangle both of them. He refills his own glass.

"I didn't think I'd have to point out the obvious."

Wade takes in a long breath and exhales slowly.

"Tony," he doesn't think he's ever used his name before but this a serious conversation and he's trying to keep to the mood, "I love Peter, and I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with him. But sometimes he's as dense as a fucking brick. After I gave him a key to my apartment and helped him bring the rest of his stuff over, I told him he should change his mailing address since he was still getting stuff at May's. It hadn't clicked in his head that I'd asked him to move in with me and he'd been living here for weeks at that point."

"Are you saying he doesn't know he's my heir?" Tony's words are a little slurred, but the disbelief in his eyes is completely sober and honest.

"Of course not! He'd never make that connection on his own."

"But he has to know-"

"He still thinks you see him as an intern. Or as _just_ his assistant. _I'm_ the one telling him all the time that if you were less lazy you'd have adopted him by now."

"God, he's so stupid." Tony seems completely stunned by the realization. "How can he not know? Everyone knows that he means everything to me. All I have are my wife, my best friend, and..."

"Your son."

"Yeah, my son. My Peter. He's so fucking stupid." Tony buries his face in his hands.

Wade leans back and rolls his eyes, "He takes after you. Dumbass." He whispers that last part to himself.

"When is he coming back?"

"I don't know."

"I tried to kill him."

"But you didn't. That means you can still fix things."

Tony sits back and sets down his drink, "Tell me more about these dragons."

Wade tells him everything he knows. At this point, he's certain Tony isn't going to turn around and use it against the dragons. All Wade's hoping right now is that Tony won't start crying on his couch. He is _not_ prepared for that.

He tells him about Blue; how she insists on sleeping in the bed and will always nibble off their plates, that Peter had been playing with an Iron Man action figure when he'd found her egg. (Somehow, thirteen years later, Peter still remembers that little detail). Then there's Pyrite, the second hatchling that loves bacon and getting scratched right under his neck. Then Mio, the last hatchling that Peter had rescued from a testing facility in Japan.

Tony isn't fond of that story.

There's a lot to say. The discovery of the nest, outflying the Avengers over and over to rescue the other dragons. The weird telepathy and magic surrounding their existence.

"How have you not passed out yet?" Wade asks after going into as much detail as he could about how Peter had made his suit. How many long (and occasionally explosive) hours had gone into its completion. Tony seems particularly proud about it and Wade tries to play on that.

Tony shrugs, "I'm a professional alcoholic."

"Peter said you were doing better."

"I am. I was. Don't judge me, Wilson." Tony's lips draw into a line and Wade moves on.

"You called me Wade in the jet."

"I still don't like you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Peter can do better than a merc like me. It's nothing I haven't thought myself."

Tony sets down his glass and stands. He seems about ready to leave, now that Wade's said all he could. He doesn't move right away. He sighs.

"Look." He smooths his hair back and it works better than the last few times he's done it. "I don't like you, but... Thank you." He clears his throat, "I'm glad he had someone on his side for all this."

Wade's instinct is to be sarcastic or snarky. He doesn't say anything, because he feels that way too.

"When he gets back, let him know I want to talk to him. But make it sound less ominous than that."

"Sure, I can do that."

Peter only gets home nearly ten days after the fight at the nest. All the dragons have been temporarily relocated to different islands. Most of them are at the island Evangelico found; the lava is a good hiding place for them even if it's crowded and low on resources.

He needs a solution. Soon.

The first thing he does upon returning home is take Wade to bed to greet him thoroughly and burn off some pent up energy. Then Wade passes along the message and he knows he has to head to the Tower first thing in the morning to sort this out.

He's not completely done grieving and he's still angry. He doesn't know if this will go over well, but he's run out of options.

Time to face the music.

" **... ...** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not support alcoholism (I say drinking wine and writing this story).
> 
> Tony is my sweet boy with lots of problems. Please let me know your thoughts.
> 
> I wish I had the time and patience to put more into this story, to fluff it more, but I know that if I try to make this longer, that I may start losing interest and I love this plot too much to risk that. It genuinely means a lot that some people were touched by the last chapter; I wanted to be sure I put enough into the story that you could love and relate to these characters. I hope you continue to enjoy this story and the places it shall go :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is this story getting so long? This was a whim that just got away from me.
> 
> Welcome to Act 3.
> 
> Enjoy :)

  
" **... ...** "

Peter gets dressed in his Spider-Man suit to web his way to the Tower; why brave New York traffic if he doesn't have to. Blue and Pyrite stare at him with big pleading eyes.

"You've never come with me before, that's not going to change just because they know now!" His hands settle on his hips and he glares down at them, "I'm not taking any risks. You two are staying here with Wade. Don't look at me like that!."

"Come on, kiddies! I'm making stir-fry and if you behave I'll give you some chicken," Wade calls out from the kitchen.

They're easily bought out by the promise of food and turn away from Peter. He rolls his eyes, gives Wade a quick kiss, and heads out of their apartment through the cracked window in the living room.

He could get to the Tower from their home blindfolded if he needed to. He's there almost every day between work and Spider-Man. One of the windows opens for him and he dives through it, rolling and then jumping to his feet. Riding dragons is amazing, but sometimes it's nice to jump around and spread his limbs.

Friday tells him Tony is in his lab. Peter stops in his room to change into jeans and a t-shirt before stepping into the elevator.

"Does Tony know now that you gave me all that information about the dragons?" He asks the AI.

"Yes," she responds briefly.

"Was he mad? I hope you didn't get in trouble because of me."

"I don't do anything I wasn't programmed to."

Peter's doesn't think Tony would have programmed her to help him in detriment to himself and his pursuits, but it's not like his AI could have a bug. He shrugs it off because that's easier.

The lab is a disaster. Tony doesn't appear to be much better off.

He can smell the liquor in the air and spots a few bottles lying about. The Iron Man suit worn into battle is propped up with a new paint job and repairs. The Avengers' weapons are scattered over several tables, even Steve's shield though there isn't anything to do to improve it. There are tools all over the floors and any available surface. The lab's never clean, really, but this is beyond the normal.

Tony probably hasn't showered or shaved in a few days, there's a tremor in his left hand, and there are heavy bags under his eyes caused by insomnia. He's not surprised to see Peter, Friday had alerted him of his arrival, and he's only met with an uncertain stare.

Peter's trying to find a middle ground between the urge to run into his arms and hug him and cry because he's missed him, and the urge to knock over the armor and weapons and scream and cry from frustration. His eyes burn, just a little bit.

"Hey," he says. It's not quite casual.

"Hey, Pete." Tony's standing at one of his work tables and with a heavy sigh sits down. His body's tired.

Peter steps a little closer until they're at a less awkward speaking distance from each other. He shoves his hands in his pockets and doesn't say anything. He'd spent a good portion of the night thinking over the things he wanted to say, now there's nothing as if Tony was the one who'd walked into his home unannounced.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I am _so_ sorry."

He's not surprised by the apology; he is surprised by the tone.

He'd been expecting a half-hearted apology, excuses, a rant about the dangers of dragons. Anger for the secrets and the lies. A lecture and a reminder that he shouldn't go around threatening the Avengers.

Tony sounds repentent, guilty, and he's not sure what to make of that.

They'd all been fighting for what they thought was right. He doesn't expect this level of guilt from any of the others.

Tony gestures to the seat near him for Peter to sit down. He does; he's still speechless.

"I talked to Wil- to Wade the other day. Apparently, I haven't been as straight-forward with you as I should have been."

"I'm not dense," it's an indignant whisper.

"I didn't think so either, but he's made some compelling arguments," Tony says with a smile. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He's the adult, he's the parent, he has to be the one to speak.

He goes on, "I don't say it enough, but I love you, Peter. You mean the world to me and I wouldn't have you any other way. This whole dragon trainer thing included. And since I have to spell it out for you, I've officially named you the heir to Stark Industries. When I die, everything that's mine is going to be yours; my company, my assets, my suits.

I know that you'll make it greater than I could ever imagine. And I thought I trusted you enough. I thought I was giving you opportunities and space to grow and learn and be yourself, and I wasn't. You didn't trust me with this secret because you couldn't. It culminated to a point where you couldn't reveal yourself until it was too late because you thought I could hurt you. We're both shit at communicating, and I'm stubborn and you were right; I'm _guilty_. I let that turn me into something I'm not proud of."

Peter's lips part but Tony doesn't let him speak just yet.

"I hurt you, Peter. I have never felt any lower in my life than I did seeing your face on that island and realizing I'd... I'm proud of you for standing up to us and doing the right thing over and over. My ego's a little bruised, mind you, but I'm so fiercely proud that you're the person that you are and that I've been around for that. I love you like a son, and I'm not saying you have to see me as your dad or anything, but I want to be a person you can trust with not just what's convenient. The good, the bad, and the reptile stuff. I want to be what you need me to be."

There's not much Peter can bring himself to do other than cry. He lets out a wet sob and Tony's instantly standing and wrapping his arms around his shoulders and bringing him to his chest. He rocks them for a couple of minutes until he starts to calm down again.

"I can't tell if you're this upset that you'll have to go to board meetings for the rest of your life, or at the idea of me being a dad."

Peter huffs a laugh.

"Those meetings are horrible," he agrees and then he whispers into his shirt, "What if I do want to see you that way?"

"I'd be honoured if you did."

"I love you, too, you know."

Tony squeezes him tightly, answer enough.

" **... blood is spilled ...** "

Peter pulls back and shakes his head. The faint whisper fades from thought.

It's been ten days since their fight on the island and he's really glad he'd stayed away. On the first day, he'd wanted nothing more than to tear their weapons to pieces and shout in their faces some more. He's not going to pretend it's in the past, but it's easier to accept an apology after time to think and calm down.

"I don't think I've wrapped my head around the whole heir thing, so prepare for a proper freakout later."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"But as for the rest... I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I just didn't know how to say it without..."

"Without me treating you like a kid trying to pet the lions at the zoo?"

"Oh, god, you really _did_ talk to Wade," Peter laughs, "And yeah, something like that."

"I promise to try with that one, too. I still don't like him, but it's obvious he's not going anywhere and... he's been there for you for all this dragon bullshit and I can't ignore that."

"Thanks, Tony. I think you'd learn to like him if you gave him a chance. The dragons too, if you're up for it. Unless you're still..." Peter hesitates. His gaze falls to his feet.

"I couldn't, Peter. I could never fight against you."

"You fought against Steve," Peter points out.

"I did." There's no denying that. "Steve's my co-worker and my friend; he's not you. Besides, you've spent all these years trying to convince me these things are safe, are you telling me they aren't?"

"What? No, of course not! They're completely harmless."

Tony returns to his seat and gestures for him to talk, "The floors all yours, sell me on these dragons."

Peter's problem is stopping and Tony makes no attempt to do so. The shadows fade from both their eyes and are quickly replaced by wonder.

This is his chance to finally tell Tony everything about them as he'd always wanted to. Wade's all for the main details, like what they eat and whether they'll set the bed on fire. Tony's a man of science and Peter revels in sharing his personal catalog of information.

He goes on about Blue's camouflage ability, Pyrite's healing, the various colours, and scale textures, the different levels of heat and strength behind the fire they breathe. He describes their speeds and stamina and all the years spent observing and watching them. How kind and gentle they are, that they survive mostly off birds and fish and rodents and would never purposely hurt a human.

" **... I will make the oceans red ...** "

The words go unnoticed as he speaks louder than them. He thinks of May, all of a sudden, and wonders what she'd think about the dragons.

"That pink one's crazy strong. It took me ages to get the dents out of the suit."

"I know, right? And she has way too much energy. She wrestles with Blue and Wade when she can, but being cooped up has been really tough on her. The older ones are pretty lazy, and so is Pyrite, but Mio and Blue need to get more exercise."

"I see your problem with moving them. Some of those things are huge and won't go unnoticed. I don't understand why they'd have such bright colouring, it's not well thought out on the evolutionary front."

"I thought so too, but they don't have any natural predators and they're supposed to stay in certain climates. Take Tangier; he's a sandy yellow because he's a desert dragon. It's easy to spot him flying over an ocean, but you'd never be able to find him in the desert."

"I hate to say it, kiddo, but I don't think even I can help. I trust your judgment and your observations and I'm willing to believe they're docile, but I'd never be able to convince all the nations to let them roam around without someone going after them for 'science'. And I can't exactly stow them away on one of my jets."

Peter would love to watch the grumpy Evangelico try to shove himself into a jet. He'd probably knock it into the volcano out of annoyance.

"It's okay, I'll figure something out. Is it okay if I use Friday? If I had access to some satellite images, I might be able to find some more secluded areas and maybe track some sort of path to take."

"Of course, Pete. Ask her anything you want."

"Are you going to tell her I'm allowed to ask about dragons again?"

"Not like you weren't already."

Tony doesn't appear angry and Peter can only smile guiltily.

"I mean, to be fair, you built her to have loopholes."

"I did," Tony chuckles softly. Signing his name on the documents that officially listed 'Peter Benjamin Parker' as his heir meant he had authority over things he couldn't even begin to imagine. Friday, of course, instantly had access to that new data (it wasn't going to be public knowledge for a while, not until Tony could convince Peter to protect himself better and he wouldn't be put in danger with the extra title), and with this new information, Peter could technically order anything from her.

Tony held one percent more access to avoid an infinite loop of 'don't tell Tony I'm dying' and 'tell me when Peter's dying' sort of scenario.

" **... they will pay ...** "

Peter doesn't notice the whispered words. He asks, "While we're on the subject... What's on that list of things I'm not allowed to ask Friday about?"

Tony lets out a full laugh at that one. It'd been several years since Peter became aware of that list; if Peter were to ask Karen or Friday about certain topics, they would notify Tony immediately. It's mostly obsolete now, but there are still a few things on there.

"It's not nearly as interesting as you're making it out to be in your head," Tony says with a shrug, " As I said earlier, we're both shit at communicating and we used to be worse about it. When you were... I don't know, sixteen? You thought I had randomly decided to teach you how to shave, but I'd put it on the list because I knew it wasn't something May could teach you and I didn't want you trying to learn off Youtube videos. It was mostly things like that."

"Like shaving?" Peter vividly remembers Tony pulling him into the bathroom one day after lab time to teach him how to shave. He'd laughed it off as Tony being weird and eccentric. Thinking back, maybe he had been googling it days earlier. Huh.

"Yup. Also if you started looking into colleges and scholarships, or getting your own place and rent and a part-time job. Anything I wanted you to talk to me about but knew you wouldn't. Anything to do with sex and relationships was on the list too, until you started dating Wilson. I didn't need to know about any of that. You're smart enough to use protection." A pause. "Right?"

Peter's face grows warm and he coughs awkwardly, "Sure. And on the topic of literally anything but that..."

"I think you should talk to Nat when you get a chance." Tony goes back to being serious, "She's pretty shaken about nearly killing you a couple of years ago."

Peter grimaces.

"I don't blame her for that. It... happened. I'm over it."

Friday cuts them off with an alert.

"Boss, Thor has landed on the helicopter pad."

It takes them both a second to wrap their heads around her words.

Thor doesn't come down to earth for fun, there's usually a reason for it. They stand and take the elevator up to the roof without saying anything further.

" **... I will reset the cycle ...** "

Peter frowns. The words come through in May's voice. He's never heard her sound so frightening before. He doesn't have time to think about it. The elevator doors open and they spot Thor twirling an umbrella. He flashes them a bright smile.

"Hello, Stark! Little Peter!"

They walk to him and take some time to shake hands and greet each other properly.

" **... I will spill their blood ...** "

It's loud. So loud he can't hear Thor's words. He shakes his head and stares down at his feet in thought.

What is this? What's happening?

He pulls his phone out of his pocket. It started vibrating a few seconds ago. There's a text from Wade.

From: Wade  
 _The babies are acting weird. Are you alright?_

From: Petey  
 _I don't know._

He's always honest with Wade. If Blue and Pyrite are acting strange then... perhaps that voice isn't just in his own head. Aithusa had sounded like May, the effects of dragon magic, but this voice... Aithusa is dead. Who is this?

"What's up, Point Break? Tell me there isn't some sort of intergalactic monster coming our way. I don't know if I have the time to deal with that."

Thor laughs, but he quickly falls serious, "Unfortunately, a problem does appear to lie here on earth. There is..." Thor seems to hesitate and chooses, "a disturbance."

If it were not for his association to the Avengers, he wouldn't have come at all.

"What do you mean?" Tony's crosses his arms and frowns. Peter recognizes his serious face. It usually pops up when he's about to tell him off for doing something reckless, or when the world seems to be ending.

A feeling in his chest tells him this might be both.

" **... I will have their blood ...** "

May doesn't growl like that. She's never sounded dark like this. Aithusa was a gentle warmth, a use of May's voice that was completely familiar. This was like walking into a different dimension where May was an evil empress or something. Peter really doesn't like it.

"I'm not certain. There was a surge of power on earth recently the likes of which we've never seen before. I thought you may need my assistance."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I mean, there was this fight a couple of weeks ago, but it's been dealt with." Tony pulls up his wrist, on which rests a watch connected to his AI, "Friday, do you have anything?"

"No, sir," she says after a pause.

"Hm," Thor hums, "I will stay, then, until-"

" **... the cycle will start anew ...** "

His chest hurts. His temples start throbbing at the strength of these words. His heart beats wildly and he briefly wonders if he's having a heart attack. It's isn't, of course.

"I... I think..." His breath comes in puffs. Thor and Tony look at him.

His vision is doubling; he can't focus on them. He looks down at his feet again. His phone is clenched tightly in his right hand.

"Peter? Kiddo?" Tony steps up to him, a hand on his shoulder and his eyebrows draw down with worry. Thor's umbrella touches the ground, body losing its restless energy. He's focused.

His fingers press a few buttons on his phone and then he looks up at Tony. His cheeks are pale, his hands are shaking.

From: Petey  
 _Come_

"It's Mother," he whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly - Captain Marvel. AHHHHHH. I can't even. Carol Danvers supports Peter protection the dragons, f.y.i. She's also the new love of my life. I don't know how I live before this story came out. Six weeks or so until Endgame. I will cry.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright alright alright... things are moving...

Aithusa had told him little about Mother.

Stories, fairytales, legends. He hadn't been convinced it was all real until...

" **... come to Mother, little ones ...** "

"Peter? Come on, kiddo, talk to me." Tony's hand is still on his shoulder. "Who's Mother?"

"We... I... we have to hurry."

His phone vibrates. He looks at the screen and Tony peers over and sees the message.

From: Wade  
 _On our way. ETA 5 minutes._

Peter's mind is rushing through thoughts and plans. If Mother is waking...

"It's Mother," he repeats. "She's the mother of all dragons."

"I'm not following, Peter."

Tony can't hear her words spoken through May's voice. Peter wishes he didn't have to hear it; wishes it were anyone else's voice.

" **... they spilled our blood, I will spill theirs ...** "

"She's going to kill us all." He has no time to explain, no time to fluff the truth. "Can we use your jet?"

"Of course, of course," Tony says. Friday takes his orders and the jet is booting into action. "The others are going to join us, and Wade should be here soon. Tell me about this mother dragon thing."

Thor understands the look in Tony's eyes and simply follows behind them with no words. Tony guides them into his favourite jet and sits next to Peter, arm around his shoulders.

"Aithusa's told me about her. She's the mother of dragons and really, really, doesn't like humans."

"You have to give me more than that, Pete. You spent the last hour convincing me these things are good."

"She's waking. She's mad that Aithusa was killed. She's going to kill everyone again."

Friday alerted the other Avengers and they take the elevator to the top floor. Wade is making his way on Blue's back with Pyrite tucked under his shirt. They're agitated, unnerved, upset. Wade can't make it out.

Peter's hands are shaking. Tony draws his arm back from around his shoulders and takes his hands in his.

"This is another dragon, I'm guessing?" Peter nods. "Can you hear her in your head, like that other one?"

"Yes, she's..." Peter can't describe it. It's beyond rage.

He pulls out his phone and looks at the last message. Wade said five minutes, it's been four. He stares at the clock and waits.

Tony doesn't press for more immediately. The other's are arriving.

"What's going on?" Steve asks, stepping into the jet followed by Natasha, Clint, Rhodey, and Sam. They spot Thor and Tony seated next to Peter. They take their own spots and watch and wait. They all have words they want to say to him, but it's not the right time.

" **... Their bones are mine ...** "

Peter presses his hands to his temples and wills the words away. They've been steadily growing stronger. Louder.

Wade arrives next. He lands out of their sight and runs in with Blue behind him. She's camouflaged, but Peter can spot the haze around her edges. She stays near the closing door and spins in circles. Peter knows she can hear Mother too.

"Baby? What is it?" Thor moves over so that Wade can sit beside him. He has Peter's backpack and sword in hand and drops them at their feet. Pyrite pokes his head out of his neckline and chirps unhappily. The Avengers watch but remain quiet.

" **... Come to me! ...** "

" _NO!_ " Peter shouts back in his mind, pushing back that voice and sitting up straight. It fades, he feels it withdraw. There's still a blip in the corner of his mind, a guiding light. He doesn't know exactly where to go, but he knows which direction. "Friday, start us East."

The jet takes off.

Peter explains, as best as he can now that his mind isn't occupied by another's voice, "The mother of dragons was awakened by Aithusa's death. She's... She's not like the rest of them." He takes Pyrite into his hands and rests him on his lap. He's perfectly docile if only a little bit agitated by what's going on. "She hibernates and when she wakes up... Aithusa told me that the last time she woke up she killed all the humans because she doesn't believe we can co-exist. She's what you thought they all were."

Wade knows the story and inhales sharply at the mention of Mother.

"So because we..." Rhodey starts.

There's a glint of guilt in his eyes. Peter sighs softly, "Yes and no. It was going to happen eventually. It's a cycle. She kills us, we come back, then she kills us again. It's... what it is."

"Is this one of the dragons?" Thor asks while pointing at Pyrite. The mood shifts, subtly. He hadn't been around in the past couple of weeks, but he's quick to adapt.

"Yes, this is Pyrite. Pyrite, say hi to Thor."

The small dragon roars softly.

"Hello, mighty dragon," Thor returns the greeting with a smile. Pyrite purrs in delight. "What is your plan against this mother of dragons?"

"Plan?" Wade scoffs, "Not sure you're asking the right superhero."

"Shut up," Peter knocks their shoulders together.

He has no plan, obviously.

"Where's the other one you always have with you? Blue?" Tony asks.

"Oh, she's here." He gestures to the back of the jet, "Go on, Blue, show yourself."

In the blink of an eye, she appears before them. Her lips are drawn back in a snarl and her eyes are narrowed. She's watching them for any sign of movement. Peter sees Steve's hand clench in his lap and the tension in Sam's shoulders.

"Come here, you big baby." Peter pets his lap and she pads over, sitting down and nuzzling at his hand. Her tail curls around her body and she appears to relax. "Everyone, this is Blue."

"She's marvelous!" Thor says.

Peter knows the flattery will get him everywhere with his dragons. Blue immediately looks smug.

He looks at Tony. He's staring at Blue.

"I have to agree with that one. She's thirteen years old?" Tony asks. His hand hovers briefly as if to reach out and touch her. Peter takes her head in his hands and guides her towards him, a clear invitation. He pets along her nose and neck; she's vibrating beneath his hand in what he wants to believe is joy.

"Yeah. That's basically newborn in dragon years."

Blue huffs.

"Pete, what do you want to do about this dragon mom thing?" Tony pulls his hand back, but Blue places her head in his lap to wordlessly beg for more.

He'd shot at this creature only days before. He'd wanted her dead. Tony knows it's Peter's influence that insights this loyalty and he's honoured by it. He returns his hand to the soft space behind her ears and scratches.

"I don't know," he says honestly. "Maybe... maybe I can change her mind. There wasn't a Dragon Lord last time she woke up, maybe I can reason with her on our behalf." At the odd looks he receives, he adds, "That's what I am. A Dragon Lord. It's an overly fancy term that means they trust me to protect them. A few thousand years ago, the dragons came together and united their magic to create a sort of union between dragons and humans. I can talk to dragons that were born before that time telepathically; that's how I can hear Mother."

"What is she saying?" Wade asks.

Peter hesitates and admits, "That she wants us all dead, more or less."

"And you want to reason with this thing?" Clint speaks up. His eyes are still on the dragon at his feet, as are all the other Avengers' except for Thor and Tony's.

"I have to try."

"And if you can't?" This is Tony. He's gentle as he speaks as if fearing upsetting him.

Peter doesn't know.

"Should we fight her?" Wade's the one to ask the question they're all wondering.

"We might have to," Peter says hesitantly. "Let's just see what happens when we get there. Friday, a bit more South please."

The jet adjusts accordingly.

"Go at max speed, we're still really far."

From the way Aithusa had spoken about her, he assumes she may be mistaken as part of a mountain. He knows there are tall mountains in Nepal, such as Mt. Everest itself, and is assuming it's in that direction.

"Peter," Natasha calls out to him.

He locks eyes with her and sees the guilt. He shakes his head.

"It's okay. It's really okay."

Her lips draw into a tight line and she doesn't say anything else. He's not sure how to make her feel better. He doesn't think he can. The wound at his side has healed and has only left behind the smallest scar; there's no residual pain or fear from it.

"We're with you, Pete. Whatever needs to happen."

He's grateful to have Tony at his side. And Wade and Blue and Pyrite. He isn't facing this alone like so many times before. Peter grabs his backpack and heads into a side room to change. He returns in his riding gear with his helmet tucked under his arm.

Peter takes his seat between Tony and Wade with Blue at his feet. It's all he's ever wanted.

Tony's hand touches a black spot on his arm. He hasn't gotten around to filling the spots Aithusa had left behind with her death.

"Do you know why this happened?" He asks.

"Magic, I assume. Not much point killing dragons for sport if there's nothing left behind to brag with."

The Avengers ask questions and he answers them. They have time.

This isn't a sanctioned mission, but no one mentions that particular detail.

It's almost a repeat of what he'd told Tony not long ago, except with more vague details. He doesn't trust them quite as much. Wade's warmth by his side is consistent and reliable. He takes his hand and feels oddly safe surrounded by those who'd wanted him dead days ago.

He can't blame them, but he does. A little bit.

Mother still speaks as the hours flicker past. He can hear her faintly. He can feel Blue and Pyrite twitch at the same time he hears her and knows he isn't alone in this.

" **... I'll make them pay ...** "

" **... are they stronger than they used to be? ...** "

" **... Let's find out ...** "

" **... disgrace... you are not one of us ...** "

Goosebumps trail down his arms and he feels a familiar tingle of warning. He's talking about finding Mio and cuts himself off. He stands abruptly and the jet quiets.

"Friday, slow the jet." Blue shifts to Wade's feet and Pyrite climbs up to his shoulder to keep from falling. He goes to the front window and peers out.

They're not alone.

" _Stop!_ " He shouts in his head.

There are so few living dragons borne of old magic; he only knows Aithusa and Mother. They can't hear him. He curses under his breath. Being a Dragon Lord is pointless if he can't get them to listen to him.

"Kiddo?"

They look where he's looking and they can only stare.

Peter straps his sword to his waist and moves to the back of the jet. He signals for Blue to follow. "Friday, stop the jet completely and open the door." He's a bit startled by her easy compliance but won't waste the time to question it. Fresh wind fans his face as the door lowers.

In the distance, flying around them, are dragons. Small ones and big ones in all sorts of colours. They're following Mother's call.

Dragons function as a pack; they follow their alpha. If Mother tells them to turn on the humans, they will obey. His existing pack is loyal to him (he hopes). Blue and Pyrite are still by his side with no intention of abandoning him. Blue is looking at him now for guidance. He needs to bring them to his side before Mother gets her teeth in them.

"Once I'm out, keep flying. Just follow them and you'll know where to go."

Wade's hand lands on his elbow before he can bring the helmet over his face. He kisses his cheek and asks, voice low, "You sure they won't..."

"I'm sure." Peter brushes their lips together quickly and smiles, "I'll see you when we land."

Wade nods and hesitantly takes a step back to give him room.

He catches Tony's gaze and nods once. He slips on his helmet and takes a running leap out of the jet with Blue by his side. His arms spread out to his side and he goes down, head first. They don't see him get caught and then the doors are closing again and the jet takes off.

Tony rushes to the front window and breathes an audible sigh of relief when Peter flies ahead of them, safely on Blue's back.

"God fucking damn it Peter, you're gonna give me a heart attack."

They all watch and wait to see what Peter will do.

Blue's well rested and fed (because Wade definitely gave her way too much chicken while cooking dinner) and he pushes her to fly fast. The dragons around him don't pay him any attention yet. They get ahead of them and Blue slows down to match their pace.

There's fifteen of them, he counts, none of which are ones he's met before. A cat-sized dark purple dragon is closest to him and he recognizes her from a Chilean sighting from the year before. No one had found her; he's relieved to see she's alive.

He whistles, hoping to get their attention. The sound fades in the wind. There's no use trying to yell either. He'd become reliant on Aithusa's ability to speak to them on his behalf for all these years.

Blue, sensing his dilemma, roars loudly. The other dragons steadily slow to a stop. They stare at him and fidget.

Peter carefully stands on her back and turns to face them. He holds up a hand. One dragon roars, a large brown creature, and he stares him into submission. They can sense the magic off him, they know what he is to them. They slowly relax.

"I am the Dragon Lord, I'm here to protect you! You _can't_ fight the humans; that's not your way, that's not our way! You're better than this. Go, return home and-"

He's gaining headway, he can tell. He feels their warmth in his chest, a loyalty so deep it reaches the magic in his veins. They don't want to fight.

Mother is louder.

He hears her enraged roar in his mind and he winces, hands pressing into his temples again to try and alleviate the pain. The dragons whine and howl in response. They resume their flight and Peter knows he's lost this one. He sits back down and Blue flies. The jet's not far behind.

They're closing in on some Nepalese mountains and he knows that's where they're headed.

The dragons dip into a dive and he guides Blue to follow.

It's miles of dirt and rocks and inhabited terrain. The mountains are all along the horizon as far as they can see. The sun is fading and the air is growing cool. They land heavily in the dirt and the array of colours is odd in the darker landscape. He doesn't see Mother, but he senses her nearby.

He slips off Blue's back and the jet lands further away from the dragons. They're frightened and distressed, and more are landing and can be seen approaching their location. She's called for them and here they are.

Peter knows there are dragons hidden in all sorts of places, like caves and inside mountains and at the bottom of the oceans to keep hidden from humans. If enormous dragons are seen flying all over the globe, he doesn't think he can fix that.

First, deal with Mother. Then deal with the repercussions of all this.

He slips off his helmet and talks to them, trying to calm them.

"Hey, hi, I'm Peter. Dragon Lord. I'm going to take care of this, alright? Just stay here and let me handle this." Luckily, they chose an unpopulated location to have their meetup.

This is where he has to sell himself as their alpha; if the least he does is instill some confusion, they might hesitate before following her orders.

The Avengers step off the jet and, aside from Wade who bounds over to him, they walk over cautiously.

"I'm sorry I don't know what your name is, but let me introduce you to my mate. This is Wade." He takes his boyfriend's hand and sets it on the dragon's snout. His hand is shaking in excitement and in that brief moment, he forgets about Mother. Wade can see the positive in this situation and he really loves him for it.

" **... I will end you, little Dragon Lord ...** "

Because Wade can't hear her threats and he's relying on him right now to soothe him. Blue and Pyrite are as scared as he is, as they all are.

The dragons step back from the humans and their weapons. Peter locks eyes with Tony and his jaw clenches. His gaze flickers over the Avengers.

"I meant what I said last time. If any of you take aim at one of my dragons I'll let Mother eat you, and I'm not kidding." He's still holding Wade's hand over this strange dragon's snout and knows he might not be coming across as threatening. That's not the point. "No matter what happens with these guys or with Mother, you do nothing without an order from me. This isn't Avengers business. This is _my_ business. Are we clear?"

Tony doesn't hesitate. He nods, "I trust you, kiddo." He walks up to him, braving being surrounded by these creatures he's trying to trust even though it goes against his deepeset instincts. He holds out his hand and presents an earbud. "If you have to go up there without us, keep this on you in case you need backup. But if I think you're going to die..."

Peter rests his hand over Tony's, "You'll trust me to save myself," he finishes for him. "You want me to lead your business someday, right? Let me lead this and prove that I'm worth that trust." His fingers curl around the extra comm and he places it in his left ear.

Tony's not happy with the decision, but he settles on, "Okay. You don't have to prove anything, Peter, but if this is what you want then I'll stand by you."

The words are hard to say, but the chicks have to leave the nest sometime. May had let him continue on as Spider-Man after finding out the truth, Tony could let him be the Dragon Lord he was destined to be. He has to let this happen. He can see the dragons around them fidgeting and shaking and knows Peter's in the middle of this.

If he doesn't let him do this his way, they might get to the point of no return. He won't risk that. Not when his soul is telling him to _trust_.

"And if I die, you don't fight. You run like hell. Underground might be safe, or-"

"We'll see what needs to be done if we get there. Right now, let's focus on you _not_ dying."

"Fine. Mother's starting to move, I'll go to her and try to fix this before it gets out of hand," Peter says. He feels her presence at the pit of his stomach and knows time is passing them by.

He throws himself into Tony's arms.

Despite what people may think, Tony and Wade included, he doesn't give second chances out of naivety. He genuinely believes in the good in people, the mother of dragons included. And he's not so naive as to believe he can remove thousands of years of hatred. She might kill him. And then kill the rest of humanity.

He has to try because it's the right thing to do.

"I love you, Tony," he whispers to him, "and when I get back, I'm going to call you dad. Is that alright?"

"More than alright." Tony presses a kiss to his hair and his arms squeeze around his body.

Peter draws back. Wade still has a hand on the nameless dragon, though isn't doing much with it.

"And when I get back," he tells Wade, his tone soft, "remind me to finally propose to you."

Wade's arms pull him into a hug and warm kiss, "Not if I get to it first."

" **... I will spill your blood, Dragon Lord. My children were foolish, thinking a human could help us. Let me end this nonsense. Fight me, little rider ...** "

The ground shakes beneath their feet. The dragons and the Avengers alike are looking around with wide eyes.

Peter kisses Wade, deep and warm. He grabs Pyrite and sets him on Wade's shoulder, "Take care of our baby."

"Always."

He steps back away from Tony and Wade. The real world is calling and she's angry.

Peter looks at Blue, "You ready for this?" His hand rests gently in the space between her eyes. She nuzzles into his touch.

There's a growl at the back of her throat he takes for agreement.

"Let's go." He climbs on her back, her long black wings extend, and then they're flying.

He looks back once because he can't help himself. There's Wade, whom he honestly believes to be the love of his life and the man he'll marry soon, and Tony, the father he's never had the opportunity to have in his life. Then there's the Avengers, the superheroes he's admired and worshipped for so many years that he wants to be like someday. Maybe that's today.

Their shapes become smaller the further they get, and he looks forward and he's not certain, but it seems like.. the mountain itself is moving.

" **Will they listen to you, young Rider? Or will they listen to me?** "

Her roar shakes the earth. This time it's not in their heads and Peter can feel the vibrations in the air. The mountain sprouts wings and Blue stops. He holds on tightly to keep from being throw over her head at the abrupt movement.

"Holy shit," he whispers to himself.

The mountain shakes and two large eyes fly open. Her head is as big as a three bedroom home. They land near her and Blue isn't as tall as her paw. Her claw is longer than Peter's entire body. His looks into one of her eyes.

He talks to her.

" _Mother, please, I know Aithusa died, but she did so believing that we can live together in a time of peace... I'm working so hard to make this happen, please, give us a chance._ "

" **Never! My daughter is dead because of your people... I will feast on their blood, gnaw on their bones.** "

" _If you kill us we'll only return stronger than before. Let's fix this now before it's too late. Please, Mother, I'm begging you..._ "

She roars again. It's a struggle to stay on his feet from the blast of wind she creates.

She stands and he looks up and up and up. He's never seen anything her size before. The Avengers Tower isn't this big. She's a dark grey with lighter shaded spots from age. Her wings spread out and out and out.

What can he do against her?

The scales are visibly thick and coarse. The tiniest movement flings dirt and dust off her body. Her tail swings around and around and around with a spiked ball on its end. He catalogs her as a Warrior class dragon, right next to Mio.

Blue is tense at his side. She knows Peter's her alpha; she'll fight for him. That doesn't mean she isn't scared.

" **... I will have your blood... I will have all their blood.. they will pay...** "

He doesn't know if she's even talking to him anymore. He slips onto Blue's back and knows what he needs to do.

There's no choice. She's given him no choice.

They fly back to the Avengers.

He grabs Clint's quiver and one of Natasha's Widow Bites. They'd proven useful against Aithusa, they may help him against Mother.

"Mr. Thor? Do you think you can give me some clouds?" Peter asks, planning ahead.

Thor's umbrella transforms into his hammer. He holds it up, lighting flashing across its metal, "I can do this for you, little Peter. Call for us, should you need assistance." Storm clouds gather at his behest, the sky grows dark.

Dragons are still nearing, landing and watching. In the distance, he can see his pack. Evangelico, Tangier, Mio, Lintu, Maris, and Hap. Even they couldn't ignore Mother's call.

He doesn't know if they'll forgive him for fighting against her.

" _Mother, please, don't turn this into a battle, I don't want to fight you. Your children don't want to fight you._ "

" **... BURN!** "

Blue flies him towards Mother. The quiver is strapped to his back, the Widow Bite is on his wrist, his sword is at his waist, and he has a dagger on his arm. He'll fight her into submission or one of them will die.

He's accepted that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Debating whether to split the next part in two or make it one long chapter. We shall see I suppose.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoooy :D

Peter sees the wings and can tell where he'll find his advantage. Blue follows his directions by the press of his heels and his hands. She flies around the mountain to goad her into flight.

The clouds he'd asked Thor to summon come in handy as Blue flies higher into them, inciting Mother to follow.

Blue is facing the skies, but Peter takes a moment to glance back and his heart races at the sight of her.

She's a literal flying mountain. She's dark grey and he can see the fading colours on her scales similar to Aithusa's. How many millions of years has she lived? Has she existed before chimps evolved into humans? She has seen everything except a Dragon Lord. Peter knows he has to fight her even if it breaks his heart.

The grounded dragons are still, undecided in their leadership. He's given them that ambiguity; that Mother isn't the only alpha around. Their instincts tell them to trust Peter, the rest of them calls to Mother. In this instance, they choose to do nothing and Peter's thankful for it.

The clouds cover them. The sun has become a sunset. Blue's black scales and his own darker outfit are perfect for this.

Mother spreads out her dusty wings and flies after them.

The Avengers, Wade, and the dragons all watch with stilted breath.

"Come on, baby boy," Wade says, holding Pyrite close.

The dragons that know him, the pack Peter had gathered over the years, land and approach Wade for reassurance. They know him and accept Peter as their alpha. He pets and whispers to them. He does everything in his power to instill trust into them. Peter can't fight Mother and the dragons at the same time. He needs to keep all of them grounded.

So far, they listen.

Tony watches Peter ride his dragon into the fabricated clouds and vanish from sight. Then the dragon bigger than anything he's ever seen flies up after him.

"What the fuck is that thing?" Clint asks.

"It's Mother," Wade responds. He's as scared as they are but pretends to be brave in Peter's honour.

"She's... If Peter can't reason with her, he'll have to kill her," Rhodey says, "There's no locking that thing up until it sees reason."

"He'll do what needs to be done," Tony says.

"What if he can't kill a dragon, Tones? If that thing breathes the wrong way it could level New York City."

"It could," he agrees. "And I trust Peter to take care of this. The dragons are his responsibility, he'll call us if he needs help."

The Iron Man suit wraps around him in anticipation of the worst. The comm in his right ear, as he'd given Peter his left, is silent. Peter will activate it if he needs to. He trusts him, he _does_. He doesn't move.

This is the worst feeling, he decides, as he watches his son enter a battle that seems stacked against him. He could fly up there and fight at his side, but that would ruin everything they'd built together. He knows him and knows he would rather let her kill him than take their help.

The dragons belong to Peter. This isn't his battle; he has to remind himself over and over.

The clouds brighten with lightning.

Blue flies through them, invisible with their aid. The lightning strikes her body and she seems strengthened by it. Peter stares at the flashes of blue and purple that flitter across her scales and flares out of her body wildly in wonder. She's never done this before.

She shoots off multiple purple flaming blasts into Mother's wings; the lightning from her body attaches to them to create a fiery and electric bullet. They're old and dusty and they break under her strikes.

The Avengers can only see the colours and the silhouettes of their bodies. One a flash of five hundred feet of angry predator and the other a young man riding his loyal dragon.

Peter takes advantage of their invisibility. Mother breathes fire and the clouds light up in red and orange glory, but she doesn't know where he is. He guides Blue over her and he jumps off her back and onto Mother's. He sticks to her and crawls up and up and up her insanely long body. She spins and shakes to knock him off, but he stubbornly remains in place.

Aithusa had once told him that dragons are mostly impervious to man-made weapons. That's true, in theory. Tony had made arrowheads out of vibranium and dragon wings were thinner in comparison to the rest of their bodies for flight efficiency. Aithusa was also an older dragon. The arrow could pierce her wing due to the combination of these factors. Rhodey's blaster had hurt her wing too, to the same degree of pain a human would experience after touching a heated stovetop.

If he had a gun and shot it at her right now, it would bounce off and hit him in the face. He needs a more creative approach.

Peter knows dragons pretty damn well.

He gets to her neck and finds what he's looking for. There's a thin area around their necks that doesn't have scales. When they move their heads, it keeps the scales from their heads and bodies from scraping together. They have this same patch of skin around their elbows and armpits as well.

He pulls one of the arrows out of the quiver on his back and with all of his strength shoves it into that space. The vibranium pierces through and blue blood smears across her grey scales. He pushes it in as far as it'll go.

Mother howls. She's screaming in his head.

" **I will have your blood!** "

He can't see around them, the clouds are thick and he's not sure where Blue is.

He takes out another arrow and does the same thing, crossing them together into her flesh.

" _Mother, please! Let's end this war. The dragons made me so that I could be a bridge between your people and mine. Let me help you._ "

" **I would rather die by your dirty human hands than join you.** "

There's another flash of blue and purple fire and her wings start to fail her. She can no longer keep this height and starts to fall beneath the clouds.

He can tell that his suit is wet from the rain filled clouds, but the scales on his clothing keeps him unaffected by the elements. He sees the Avengers and the increasing number of dragons out in the distance. They're a bit closer than they were before.

He looks over his shoulder and sees Blue flying after them.

Peter crawls up her head next and dodges her claws as she tries to paw him off. He's between her eyes and stares into one, thinking to her. He knows it's hopeless, knows there's no removing centuries of hatred, but he tries.

" _This doesn't have to end this way. I promise to protect the dragons. I won't lose another one. It's my duty, as much as it is yours._ "

Her wings beat, keeping her afloat. She stares back and there's no humanity to be found. He's used to his own hatchlings, who've grown up in a human environment, that her feelings are strange to him. Aithusa had lived so long and had trusted him, had given him Blue's egg to set him on the right path.

He knows he has to kill her.

Peter has certain understandings of his reputation, but not completely.

Peter Parker is the boy who loves and forgives and trusts. He's loyal to a fault. He gives second changes where no one else would. He gives loyalty to those who know they least deserve it. And it's all that which inspires them to be loyal in return.

It's not just anyone who could have helped Deadpool find Wade Wilson again, the funny, genuine, romantic man he was before the world turned against him. No one else in the world would have given him that chance. No smart person would have loved him through it.

Pepper and Rhodey were there to see Tony Stark go from a guilt-ridden man placing himself in Howard Stark's shadow to someone who wanted to be a father better than his own had been. Peter loves and admires him in a way he doesn't feel he deserves.

Peter doesn't realize all of that. He only knows the chastising he's received for trying to talk down an enemy rather than fighting them. The lectures he gets after another wound from trusting too long.

This time he can't give another chance. He's talked, he's listened, he's tried. Mother is too set in her ways for him to do anything.

Those on the ground know how hard of a decision this is for him.

He pulls the sword from his side and plunges it deep into her left eye.

He's never killed anyone before. Human or otherwise. But he wants to plan a wedding and learn how to run a company and become an official Avenger. Mother will allow none of that.

In his mind, he sees May watching the news reporting on the waves of dragons flying overhead in dozens of countries with Mother leading the charge, ready to kill all of humanity.

His cheeks are wet from tears. He hates this.

Mother's head shakes and with his hands on his sword, he doesn't have a solid grip and he gets launched off. His weapon gets left behind. There's blue blood on his hands.

Blue stayed near them and she flies after him immediately. He reaches out and wraps his arms around her neck and guides his body until he can sit on her back again. She straightens out and he watches Mother roaring and writhing in the air above them. Her wings are hurt and she can barely hover.

After a moment, her head turns to them and her working eye lands on him. Her wings draw back and she dives for him.

"Go, Blue!"

She dives too.

Mother is bleeding out, but he needs something else.

He thinks about his dragons and his experiences with them, trying to find a weakness he can use.

At sixteen, they'd gone to a camping ground just the three of them. Him, Blue, and Pyrite. There were marshmallows involved. He remembers trying to make smores and making a mess. It took a few baths for all of them to be rid of the sticky substance. He remembers Blue pulling a burning marshmallow into her mouth and coughing out smoke afterward. She hadn't liked that at all.

Blue's nose is dipped towards the ground and they fall fast.

Mother follows behind.

Peter looks over his shoulder and watches her open her mouth a bit, the hint of fire gathering at the base of her throat.

"Keep going, Blue. Just a bit more."

He has superhuman eyesight. At this distance, he can see the scared looks on Tony and Wade's faces, the concern radiating off the Avengers, and the distress of the dragons, especially his own pack.

He really, really hopes the dragons won't hate him for fighting against Mother.

He looks back again.

"Now, Blue!"

She turns and fires one strong blast of purple fire into Mother's open mouth.

The results are instant.

Fire flares out of her mouth and Peter can't see what happens next. His eyes are overwhelmed with red and orange fire and strong wind rushes by them. It takes a second for him to realize that Blue is no longer under him. He's free falling.

Blue falls faster and he's alone in the middle of the sky with gravity tugging at him. The fire wraps around him. His hands move to cover his face uselessly. The strap on the quiver catches fire and snaps. He doesn't think he'll need those arrows anymore. The fire doesn't burn him, but he can feel its heat.

It's never-ending, it licks at him and he feels sweat dripping down his back and forehead. His heart is racing with fear and adrenaline. He can't even tell what's going on with only flames surrounding him.

A spiked tail catches him by surprise as it hits him in the chest and sends him spiraling. He doesn't remember much after that.

From the ground, his friends and loved ones watch.

Wade starts running towards the fiery mess that is Mother and the falling figures of Blue and Peter. He knows he can't make it there in time, but he can't stand still either.

He hears Iron Man's thrusters approach and is surprised by the grip on his costume. His feet leave the ground and Tony flies them forward. Their eyes are glued on the scene above them.

Mother bursts into flames from the inside out, blood and bits are raining around them but fading as they land. They see her tail hit Peter as he's falling and he spins in the air. Blue struggles against the winds but straightens herself and aims to catch him. She fades into the fire and they can't tell if she's caught him.

The ball of fire lands and is mostly extinguished by the time he and Tony arrive. The Iron Man suit lands and Wade stands on his own feet. They carefully approach what's left.

Blue is laying on her side with her wings spread out in front of her.

Mother is dead, broken into pieces falling and then fading around them, but they only care for Blue.

Wade gets closest and kneels next to the dragon. He doesn't realize he's crying.

"Hey, sweetie," he chokes out, "Where's Peter?"

Her eyes open and she looks at him and then at Tony. Her wings part and beside her lies Peter, unconscious but alive. Wade pulls off the helmet and presses a hand to his neck to feel his pulse. It's steady.

"Hey, baby boy. You did it. She's dead. You saved everyone, just like I knew you would." His fingers trail down his cheek. His hand is shaking.

Tony kneels beside him to his right. His hands flutter over Peter's chest searching for any visible wounds.

"Come on, kiddo..." he mumbles.

"His pulse is pretty steady," Wade tells him.

"Obviously. Kid's as stubborn as a mule." He meets Wade's gaze and smiles softly, "He'd never leave these dragons. Or you."

"He better not," Wade says with laughter in his tone in attempt of a joke. He's still shaking.

Tony places a hand on his shoulder in his first show of camaraderie, "He's okay, Wade."

"Right," Wade agrees half-heartedly.

He's learning to accept that this is probably going to be his son-in-law sooner rather than later. He can see the love in the tremor of his hands and the way his eyes can't look away from Peter's face. Oddly enough, he thinks there are worse people Peter could be dating. He used to think Wade Wilson was the bottom of the barrel, now he knows differently.

The other Avengers and the dragons are approaching slowly.

Mother is dead, the new alpha is decided. His pack guides the others into order.

Peter's eyes flicker open and he sees them by his side and feels Blue's warmth around him. He's surprised to be alive.

"Is Mother...?" he asks first with a dry mouth. His hand lifts from his side and he reaches out for them. His elbow settles on Wade's thigh and his fingertips brush Tony's side.

"She's dead," Tony confirms for him. "You were amazing up there, kiddo. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he says.

"How about you repeat that without lying?" Wade asks. His hand is on his cheek and Peter brings a hand to hold it.

"I'm... alive. Bruised and battered, but I'll heal. I don't think I've got any internal damage. Help me sit up?"

Wade's hand moves to his back and helps him sit, moving so that Peter can lean against him for support and free Blue's wing. She pulls back and sits. She stares at him and he reaches out to pet her neck and soothes her.

"How are..." He looks over their shoulders.

The other dragons watch him cautiously. They don't know what to make of him, of this situation. He understands.

"Everyone's alive because of you," Wade says. His fingers press into his side and Peter squirms. "Does this hurt or just tickle?"

"I'm fine, I swear! Just feel like I got slammed into a wall." He knocks his hand aside and rolls his eyes. He's fairly certain nothing's broken. He'll definitely be black and blue for a while though.

Pyrite climbs into his hair and curls into a ball. The heat of his healing abilities instantly flows down into him and it's like drinking warm tea.

"This one will take good care of me."

Wade smiles and wipes away his tears. Peter's face is still wet too, cheeks red from heat and eyes puffy and weary. He shoves aside his helmet and moves to his knees, making to stand. Wade wraps an arm around his waist and helps. He huffs out a pained breath and his hand sits over his stomach.

"You should stay down, Pete. We can bring the jet here. You took a solid hit to the chest there, we don't know what damage it's done." Tony stands with them, hands halfway to Peter in case he decides to keel over.

"I've felt a cracked rib before, everything's fine. This stuff absorbed most of the impact," his knuckles rap across the scales covering his chest, "I'm just sore."

He stands and uses Wade for support. He stares around and takes some time to bask in the moment.

Mother is dead, he's won. He's alive. Blue's alive. The dragons are all there. They're confused and beautiful and Peter wants to press close to each of them and reassure them of his loyalty and love. His hand reaches out and Mio approaches, placing her pink nose against his palm. Her open submission starts a chain of events.

His pack kneels down, heads bowed. Pyrite stays in his hair to continue healing him, but Blue follows their lead at his side.

The rest follow in turn, dragons of all shapes and sizes and colours all kneel before him. The Avengers stand in awe, turning in circles and watching the frightening creatures bow to their youngest unofficial member.

It's humbling. And draws the reality of the situation back to mind. Peter knows it too.

Because the dragons are all there.

Which leaves him with quite the problem.

He's never been great at thinking ahead, his plans tend to just happen.

He licks his lips and for the first time in thirteen years, he admits to himself, "The dragons can't stay here."

"What do you mean?" Wade asks.

Peter draws out of his arms and takes a couple of steps forward on what's left of his strength. He needs to act brave for his next words.

"The dragons can't stay on earth. They'll never be allowed to live in peace. Mr. Thor, I'm begging you for a favour I could never pay back. Is there any way that you could help me get them a home somewhere else? Another planet, or..." He doesn't really know what's out there.

The world around him is silent. The dragons and the humans watch with bated breath. Thor stands, hammer resting over his shoulder and cape rustling behind him in the evening wind. He's met him on several occasions, he's always been kind and generous, but he's asking a large favour of a god and he knows he's overstepping his place.

No one else could help him. He's run out of favours from Dr. Strange and any aliens he knows are already out in space and unreachable. The dragons need a solution now.

Because he's never wanted to admit it, not to himself, not to Blue, and not to the world, but there will be no co-existing. Mother is gone, but the humans won't rest until these dragons are dead or in their control and that's no future he can leave them with. Someday he'll die, and he'll leave them with no protector for how many centuries until a new Dragon Lord is born.

"I certainly could arrange this, young Rider."

His startled eyes fly up to meet his gentle blue gaze. There's something a little odd about the wording, he knows it's not a promise yet, but that's not what catches his attention. Only Aithusa ever called him young Rider. He misses her.

"We have stories in Asgard of the mighty dragons and their chosen Riders. If I brought them to Asgard, my people would honour them and care for them. But - you are the Rider, not the dragon. They have chosen you to speak for them, and I have seen your bravery today, but that's not enough for me to take them to another world solely on your word." Thor brings Mjolnir down from his shoulder and tosses it at Peter's feet.

He takes two steps back.

"If you can lift Mjolnir and prove that you are worthy to lead my people, then I will know that I am worthy to lead yours in turn."

"What? Is that... are you joking?" Peter's voice is small. He can tell from the intensity of his stare that this is no joke. He looks at the other's; they're as shocked as he is.

"I am very serious, young Rider."

There's a pause and he doesn't move.

"But... but I can't... I mean, Tony couldn't lift it." Peter looks to his mentor for guidance and gets a glimpse of glimmering eyes and a soft smile.

The admiration is never-ending with Peter, Tony realizes. That Tony would be his judgment on whether or not, he himself, would be worthy makes his heart warm with love. And a bit of amusement, because his boy can be pretty naive at times. Not about the dragons, not about Wade, he's realized, but always when it comes to Tony. He blinks away the tears.

"Pete, I know that for some reason you don't see it this way, but I am the furthest from being worthy there is. I'm not fully convinced that that thing isn't rigged, but if this idea of being worthy is real, you'd be top of the list."

"Above any of us, that's for sure," Rhodey adds kindly.

"But what if I can't? What if it doesn't work? I... is there nothing else?" He pleads.

Thor's eyes are soft, but he remains fixed on his decision.

"Why are you looking to get the dragons away from Midgard?" He asks.

"Because they'll die if they stay! Because humanity has a lot of beautiful parts, like loving people and knowledge and kindness and laughter, but there's a lot of really ugly parts too and I can't get rid of that. I can't change the whole world."

"If you truly believe that moving the dragons is going to save their lives, lift my hammer and prove to me that this is what needs to be done."

"But what happens if I can't?"

"And what will happen if you can?" Thor fires back.

The dragons will be saved. He looks down at his side and Blue is there, staring back at him. If he sends the dragons to Asgard, or anywhere that isn't earth, he'll lose her. He'll lose all of them.

He could keep them. Then the humans would find them and he'll have failed them.

He can't be selfish. Thor is giving him an opportunity, one that seems impossible, but an opportunity none the less. If he fails, he'll crawl his way into Wakanda and beg for a spaceship, or live in the lab until he and Tony can make one themselves. He'll find a way, he _will_ save his dragons.

It's his duty; worthy or not it's in his blood and his soul to take care of them through whatever means necessary.

He pets her once and takes a step towards the hammer. He looks at Tony again because he can't help it.

"Go on, kiddo. Show up your old man." His head tilts towards the awaiting weapon with a smile on his lips.

"I'll give it the good ol' college try, pops." He's easing his nerves with a joke, and Tony only rolls his eyes and urges him on.

Peter steadies himself with a deep breath and walks up to the hammer. He crouches down and stares at it. The dragon magic flowing in his blood tingles at the responding magic in the metal. It's the same feeling that lead him to Mother, only brighter. Much less blood-thirsty. He wraps his fingers around the grip.

"You got this, baby boy!" Wade's words encourage him to take another deep breath to prepare himself.

How hard should he pull? How heavy is it? How was it made? How does it respond to Thor so easily? His mind rattles questions, less and less relevant, as he tries to gather the courage to try and wield Mjolnir, one of the universe's strongest weapons.

It's a couple of pounds, like picking up Pyrite or a few textbooks. It parts from the ground and he stands, arm stretched out ahead of him with Mjolnir in his grip. He stares at it with his lips parted in shock.

He doesn't really feel... anything. It's an oversized hammer. He turns his hand a bit to see the inscription on its square head, and a streak of lightning glides along the metal and he drops it in shock.

Thor laughs and he hears clapping and then Wade is throwing himself against him, mumbling praises.

"I knew you were gonna do it, Petey! You're the literal best human in the whole wide world."

Peter doesn't really feel that way and knows his boyfriend is obligated to say nice things, but it feels good anyway.

The Avengers are congratulating him and smiling. He searches for Tony and finds him looking proud. He nods at Peter and mouths above the commotion, " _Told ya'_."

He wraps an arm around Wade and pets Blue, who stepped to his side and is looking up at him with wide wondering eyes.

Thor holds his hand out and Mjolnir flies back into his possession. Around them, things grow quiet once more.

"You've proven yourself worthy, Peter Parker, Man of Spiders and Dragon Lord. I will help you save your dragons, as an extension of my admiration. Asgard will prove a good home for them, I assure you."

"I... Thank you, Mr. Thor, thank you so much."

He looks down at Blue. This is happening, then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's where most of the HTTYD inspiration came from if you couldn't tell :)
> 
> I always wanted to write a Peter can wield Mjolnir story, because that's one of my favourite tropes, but wasn't sure I could get it in here. Then I found a way!
> 
> I really, really hope you enjoyed this climax. There's not much left to the story, I'm actually struggling with wrapping it up because sadness. Let me know your thoughts!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done the final chapter... Usually, my epilogues are short so I put them out at the same time as the before-last chapter, but the epilogue seems to be running its course and will be normal chappie length.
> 
> Please enjoy this before-last chapter as I finish up the epilogue :)

Mother's call was loud and powerful.

Dragons arrive over the next couple of days in waves.

After Thor agrees to open a portal between Earth and Asgard, they stay in the same area hoping they'll all show up to be moved. Thor goes back to his people for the first several hours to advise them of the situation and what must be done. Peter has faith in their commitment to honour; if Thor says the dragons will be safe amongst his people, he believes it.

Natasha takes the jet back to New York with Clint and Sam. Steve, Rhodey, and Tony stay behind with Peter and Wade.

She pulls Peter aside while Tony's taken the jet to the nearest town for food and supplies before she leaves with it.

"I know you've forgiven me, Peter, but I have to do more. I'll make sure no one knows where the dragons are or what's going on here. I'll keep them safe, I promise. Can you tell Friday to give me access to anything I need to get this done? It'll be a lot easier for me to work that way."

"Thanks, Ms. Roma-"

"Nat. Or Tasha. Whichever. You call Tony by his name, I think it's about time you do that for me too."

"Right. Um. Tasha. Thank you for doing this, but it doesn't have to be because of what happened. I promise I'm okay with that. You didn't know it was me, it could have been anyone."

"Humour me, Peter."

Tony tells him that a lot. He's learned that sometimes it's easier not to fight when it comes to people's guilt.

"Sure, Tasha. But I don't know that I can get Friday to do that for you. Maybe you should ask Tony?"

She blinks. Once. Twice. She smiles, amused, "You know you're his heir, right?"

His cheeks heat and he nods, "I found out today, actually. Apparently, that's a thing I didn't know about."

"Right," she's trying to withdraw her smile, "and that means you can order Friday as much as Tony can. Besides, if I asked him he'd tell me there's no need for my weird secret assassin bullshit, but we both know that's because he doesn't understand how I work. You know how important it is to keep people off your track. Tony doesn't care if people know the Avengers are involved, and I know you know better."

Tony's grown up in the spotlight. He's learned not to give a flying fuck about what people say about him, so long as it's publicity. People will say whatever they want.

If the governments realize that the Avengers are helping with the escape of the dragons, there are repercussions he might not realize. Tony lives in the heat of the moment and doesn't always think ahead despite his genius brain always working in overdrive.

Peter's forced to agree.

"Okay, sure. I'll let Friday know. Do whatever you can. It'll be tough, but I know you're the best of the best so if anyone can do it..." he shrugs, "hopefully this won't take long."

He sends a message to Friday from his phone to give her access to anything that would help. He makes sure to add that this is a temporary access allowance to be removed within a few days, just in case. Tony would want him taking those kinds of precautions.

When Tony gets back with the jet, they unload the extra supplies and half the team heads back to New York for damage control.

If Natasha can send the various interested armies into wild goose chases, that could save them hours and possibly days.

Steve, Rhodey, and Tony are uncomfortable with being surrounded by so many dragons, especially when night hits, but they learn to settle.

More dragons are approaching, there are over a hundred of them now and their numbers are quickly rising.

Peter, tired and bruised, rests against Wade and Blue and gets wrapped into a circle of warm dragons while he sleeps through the night. Thor returns to them in those hours and sits next to their campfire until the day breaks.

Thor said he'd wait until all the dragons had arrived before opening the portal between Earth and Asgard; Peter has no idea how long it'll take, but Thor seems content to wait.

In the morning, as the bruises have bloomed all over his body, Thor tells him cheerfully, "My people are excited to meet the dragons. We've heard all sorts of wonderful stories. They're used to magical creatures, they'll know how to care for them and ensure their safety."

Peter's happy. He knows he's happy. Sometimes he's not convinced.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this. All I want is for them to live the long lives they're meant to."

Blue barely leaves his side. Pyrite is permanently gripping his hair and clothing in some manner for closeness. Mio stares at him with big sad eyes. This is what's best; no matter how much it hurts.

"I'm sorry, Petey. I wish there was a better way." Wade understands how he's feeling and comforts him as they catch fish for the dragons in a secluded area. The larger ones can go days without food, they eat more at once so they can last longer without, but the smaller ones will need some sustenance. They don't know how long it'll take.

For now, the dragons are all talking between themselves, telling each other to stay and wait.

"I... I just don't know what to think," he says, honestly, "the right thing is for me to be happy, but..."

"You'll miss them. And that's okay."

He remembers the words he'd told Wade when he thought he might die. He wants to spend the rest of his life with this man who's trying his best to make him feel better when everything around him feels cold.

He kisses him and tries not to think about the mixed feelings in his heart.

It's a strong conflict between what has to happen and what he wants. He'd lifted Mjolnir and he believes that to be a direct link to the right thing; getting the dragons off of Earth. Then there's the selfish part of him that wants to keep the dragons by his side forever.

Thirteen years is a long time to get used to someone being beside him all the time.

The day is long. More dragons arrive.

Everyone is mostly quiet.

Thor asks questions about the dragons and he talks and talks, as he's used to. Rhodey asks questions about the things in their past, the failed missions and the missed dragons. He makes jokes of it that Peter appreciates.

No tanks have rolled up so he assumes Natasha is doing what she needs to.

" _Hello, young Rider._ " It's May's voice again, but he knows what that means by now. Another dragon of old magic is approaching. " _The humans have named me Oshia. My sister Aithusa has told me about you._ "

" _Hello, Oshia. You're coming our way I suppose?_ " He asks her, eating dinner around a campfire with the others.

" _I will be there not long after nightfall,_ " Peter remembers Aithusa mentioning a sister that lived at the bottom of the ocean, the timing makes sense, " _Our brother Mota will be joining us._ "

" _Hello, Rider._ " It's the first time a male dragon speaks to him. At this point, he's not surprised it's Tony's voice.

" _How long until everyone gets here? The God Thor has agreed to send you off to Asgard, a place where you'll be safe and protected and it'd be great if you could help us make sure we send everyone off. I'd hate to leave someone behind on accident._ "

"Petey?" Wade whispers to him, concerned by his unblinking stare.

He points a finger at his temple and Wade understands.

" _I will send out word, but we should be the last to arrive,_ " Mota says.

" _Thank you,_ " he shares his food with his dragons and tells the others what he'd just been told.

"They'll be here in a few hours, can we send them off in the morning after they've all had some rest?" Peter asks Thor.

"Of course, young Rider!"

His appetite is gone.

"I'm going to pass along the message and make sure they're doing okay." Peter stands and no one makes to stop him. It's clear he needs his space.

Pyrite is curled under his shirt and Blue follows beside him. Mio moves to follow too, more clingy since Aithusa had died and even more so after Mother. There's not much room for her and she can't comfortably follow. Wade throws his hands around her neck and pulls her into a hug to give her comfort. She whines, a little bit, but Wade is persistent in cheering her up. He pulls himself higher and his legs wrap around her torso in an attempt to tug her down, a playful move he'd do when wrestling with them, and she huffs.

Peter stops by them to give his silly boyfriend a kiss, hanging upside down now under Mio's head, and he gives her one too.

"Don't let him win, alright?" Encouraged, she growls low and the two start to wrestle like overgrown children.

Peter leaves them and wanders through the rows of dragons, greeting them and letting them know they'll be leaving for Asgard in the morning. Dragons don't smile, their mouths may curve up the same way a dog's might, but it's not from expression. He can see their happiness in the movement of their tails and heads and the brightness in their eyes.

It's growing darker and he knows Oshia and Mota are nearing. He can feel it, the way he'd learned to feel Aithusa's nearness.

He pets along their necks and talks to them softly. He doesn't know their names, or at least the names the previous Dragon Lord's had given them, but he knows he's bonding with them and that's he's earned their affection and loyalty.

None of them are angry that he'd killed Mother. They're smart creatures, they know the _why_ for his actions.

Peter's never killed anyone. He feels he'd deserve their anger.

"I've heard wonderful things about Asgard. Thor says it's usually warm and sunny and that there's plenty of animals for you to hunt. Lots of water and open space. You guys will love it."

When he's far from the group and would have to strain to hear them if he wanted to, Blue curls into a ball and Peter rests against her, staring up at the stars. Her tail falls into his lap and he pets it. Pyrite climbs into his hair which is becoming a habit for him. There are dragons all around them and he wishes this could be _it_.

That he could lay there with the creatures he's meant to protect forever. That they could live off the earth and fend for themselves away from civilization with no fear of incoming armies. They're going to have all of that; just without Peter.

He could selfishly go to Asgard with them. Thor has told him, away from the other's, that he'd be welcomed there if that's where his duties lie.

He'd thanked him, but...

Peter knows he has a lot of self-imposed duties, but he can't leave New York without Spider-Man. And he has his family. Wade would follow, but May and Tony wouldn't and he couldn't leave them. May has no one left and Tony... apparently wants him to take over his company someday, and ditching out would be a jerk move (along with the sentimental aspects and their ever-strengthening relationship, he supposes).

He's been divided into two worlds since he found Blue's egg in a pond and was bitten by a radioactive spider on a field trip.

So many years thinking, _I don't know what to do_ , had been years of denial. Up until it came crashing around him and he finally had to face the truth and make his decision.

It's not a choice, not really. The dragons have to go, he has to stay. It's facts. Logic. The science of animals and humanity. The truth of war.

Peter's smart, so everyone says.

He knows this is the smart thing to do.

It still really hurts.

Tony finds him sometime later. He's following a glowing yellow dragon the size of a football and Peter smiles as he thanks her. It's odd to think that Tony had asked a dragon to help him find Peter, but he likes that he's trying to trust them.

"Hey," he pats the spot beside him. Blue's tail moves out of the way.

Tony shuffles once and then takes the empty spot, back rigid and a couple of inches away from her black scales. The glowing dragon lays on the ground near their feet. The moon above is giving them enough light to see each other's faces, but she gives them a bit more than that. Blue's tail falls back over their laps and Peter sees Tony tense.

"Hey, kiddo. You've been out here for a while, thought you might want some company."

Peter's laying back, so Tony has to look over his shoulder to see his face. He smiles.

"I suppose it'd be nice to talk to someone who can actually answer." He reaches out and grabs Tony's sleeve. He tugs gently. "Lay back with me. I promise you won't squish her." If they're going to talk he wants to be able to look at him. He's also a little amused to see Tony so out of his comfort zone. He's usually pretty good at faking confidence.

Tony's glare is unimpressed, but he follows the pull on his sleeve and settles against the dragon's side. He tilts his head back and looks up at the stars, Peter's arm falling between them.

"It's good we've had such nice weather."

"Oh god, did we go back to the awkward talking about weather stages of our relationship? Because I'm not okay with that."

Tony chuckles, "I was being genuine, smartass. But fine, no talking about the weather. Let's hop straight into it; tell me your feelings."

"We don't do that. Let's keep up the track record." Peter tilts left, a little bit, so that he can feel Tony's warmth better.

"We have to learn _something_ from these last two weeks of bullshit. Look, I don't want to do this any more than you do, but it's gonna happen, so the sooner we get it over with the sooner we get back to pretending we have no feelings."

Peter snorts.

"Whatever you say, boss."

"You're a little shit, you know that?" Peter laughs, loud and drawing huffs from the sleeping dragons around them. Tony wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him against him, his hand coming up to run through his hair around the sleeping dragon on his head. "What's on your mind, Pete?"

He brings his knees up to his chest and turns sideways to lean on Tony. They've never done this, but he thinks they could start.

"Is Wade still playing with Mio?"

"Yup."

"Good. She's going to like Asgard." Tony doesn't say anything. He continues his ministrations on his hair. "There's nothing to say that isn't obvious. I don't want them to go, but they have to. It's... what it is."

"What are they to you? I can tell they're not pets, exactly, but I can't figure it out."

"They're... they're my unorthodox family. Like you."

Tony's cheek presses against the top of his head, Pyrite moves aside for him, and they sit in silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Tony says eventually.

"Don't, please," Peter can't stand the idea of Tony blaming himself. Not when he's trying so hard not to blame himself too.

"If I hadn't ordered us to kill that big one-"

"This was never going to work. Aithusa told me years ago that dragons and humans weren't meant to co-exist. I didn't want to accept that; I waited too long and now here we are."

"There's nothing-"

"I could have done something!" Peter shouts, drawing back. He meets Tony's startled gaze and can't help the tears. He wipes his arm over his cheek to wipe them away. "I could have done something," he repeats in a whisper.

"Pete..."

"Dr. Strange gave me three portals. One to Japan, one from Japan, and a third one in reserve. I held onto it for years and I used it to get to the nest in time to fight you guys off. I was so _selfish_. Right from the start I could have asked him to open a portal anywhere, he has access to all sorts of dimensions, and I didn't because I don't want them to go. If I'd done it right away, Aithusa would still be alive."

"You were just a kid, Peter. You're still just a kid. No one expects you to make the perfect decisions all the time. You can always go back and wonder about the 'what if's, but that's not going to change the choice you made with the right intentions. You are the most selfless person I know and it's not wrong to want to keep them with you."

"But I'm responsible for them! I'm supposed to do what's best for them, even if it sucks for me."

"You'd think, huh?" Tony chuckles, "It's not always that easy though. A perfect man may have told Spider-Man to hang up the suit until he was done with puberty, but I'm not perfect, but you still like me all the same. There are millions of things I wish I'd done differently in my life, but at the end of the day, my actions lead me here. And right now I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"It's not like I would have stopped being Spider-Man," Peter says in his defense.

"And that's because you're a good person, Peter. I would have been willing to bet my life you could lift that hammer. I'm a fully grown adult and I made some bad decisions when it came to you. You're a kid who did what you thought was right, and look around you; they're not holding it against you."

Blue roars softly in agreement.

"You have to say nice things." Peter sniffles, but it doesn't draw from the smile on his face.

"Since when?"

"Since you're my dad and all that. It's like, the law."

Tony laughs and pulls Peter into a hug, hiding his face in his hair as Peter laughs against his neck. If only someone had told Howard that. He pushes down that thought and thinks of his own child in his arms, ridden with guilt.

"I know I can't make this better, but I promise you've done more than anyone else could have in your situation, and you're doing the right thing. You're right, it sucks. I wish there was another way, but I'm really proud of you for taking this as well as you have. You're being way more mature than I would have been at your age."

"Thanks, dad," Peter whispers. The word is foreign, he doesn't remember ever calling anyone dad or mom. It feels a little awkward, but mostly nice.

Tony's answer is a brief squeeze.

"Did you want to head back to the others?" Tony asks.

He shakes his head, "I'm going to stay, I think. You can head back if you want."

"Nah, I'm good here. You know, for a weird reptile thing, the dragon's pretty comfortable."

Blue huffs and she smacks her tail down against his lap. He hisses in pain but doesn't say anything; he deserved that.

"Tell me more about these dragons."

"I already told you everything."

"No, you told me enough. Now tell me everything."

They both know he won't get much sleep that night, and it's not like Tony cares much for his own. So Peter continues the conversation they'd had just two days ago in the lab.

He talks and talks. At this point, Wade knows everything about his dragons and this is an opportunity he won't waste.

Tony learns about the struggles of learning how to care for a growing dragon when days prior he hadn't known that dragons were real. He tells him about how Pyrite had helped him overcome the effects of the spider bite. He's not sure he'd be alive without him. That they were there for him after his uncle died. And during.

He tells him how hiding a growing dragon from May had been difficult and how Blue's camouflage ability had been a blessing. He insists he's not nearly as clumsy as everyone believes. He goes over creating the different suits in details that Tony could understand (whereas Wade had only nodded and smiled).

It's impossible not to sound proud as he describes his hatchlings breaking through their eggs. He'd started them all off on chicken, but now they eat pretty much anything, similar to humans, though he's never given them sweets in fear that it would make them sick. Blue refuses to eat berries (all of them), though she'll eat spinach and carrots so she's certainly not a herbivore. Pyrite loves his bacon and peaches, though can't stand shrimp. He's yet to find anything Mio won't swallow down in one bite.

He tells Tony about how they sleep in his bed every night. Blue's been with him for thirteen years. Tomorrow night, she won't be there.

It's a hard pill to swallow.

He explains how after being shot he'd gone to Wade. That wasn't a story he'd been able to tell him before. Then they'd started dating and finally he had someone to talk to about his dragons.

He'd seen them when he'd woken up after fighting Mother and their behaviour since; he thinks they're finally starting to get along. He gains one thing and will lose another.

Tony's an open ear and lets him go on and on without a word of interruption.

He has no idea what time he passes out, but he knows he does because he blinks and then he's waking to the brightness of sunlight.

The field is echoing with the sounds of waking dragons.

He pulls back from Tony who yawns into wakefulness. They both stand and stretch and quietly agree to return to the Avengers. Blue and Pyrite are with them, the other dragons watch them go by. Peter can see their joy, can feel it in the pit of his stomach, and despite his dread, he's happy too.

It'd be impossible to miss Oshia and Mota; they're as big as Aithusa was and their eyes meet theirs over everyone else's heads. Peter leads them there to greet them. Tony follows tentatively.

Oshia is a sparkly cyan shade of blue with what seems to be gills on the side of her neck. Her scales are as brightly coloured as Blue's, no sign of age from being preserved so well underwater. Mota, sitting beside her, is a glittering bronze with lightening scales. He's younger than Oshia, but he looks older from living in caves for most of his life.

He introduces them to Tony, Blue, and Pyrite.

" _Is everyone here?_ " He asks them.

" _Yes, young Rider. Everyone is ready._ "

" _Thank you. I'll go see Thor to get this started._ "

They leave the two dragons and return to the waiting Avengers. Wade's chatting with some of the dragons (an attentive audience whether they like it or not at times). Thor, Steve, and Rhodey are sitting around a small fire eating their breakfast of oatmeal and fruits while talking about their various adventures. They're relaxed. For Steve and Rhodey it's a direct contrast to their tenseness from two days prior. It's a shame that it's too late.

Peter isn't hungry and remains standing.

Tony sits and is immediately handed an apple by Rhodey, whose intense gaze insists on him eating it, and Wade skips over to take his spot by Peter's side.

"Hey, baby." He takes his hand and leans down to kiss his cheek. "You okay?"

His answer is a shrug. He forces a smile and looks at Thor, "Everyone's here. They're ready when you are."

Thor beams and sets aside his food. He walks over to Peter and places a heavy hand on his shoulder, "Very well, young Rider. We'll begin right away."

There's not a second wasted. Thor lifts his hammer and a magical portal appears in the sky above their heads. Asgard is visible on the other side, as is a welcome party. They're ready for the dragons.

" _Lead the way, Oshia,_ " he thinks to her.

Her roar is heard by all and she takes off first. Being able to speak to all of them telepathically is easier than Peter trying to guide them. The wind caused by her flight brushes across the floor and around the other dragons.

Some of the dragons nearest to them look to Peter, the younger ones he thinks, and he nods and gestures for them to follow.

They fall into motion. More and more dragons rise up, falling into a staggered formation behind Oshia. As she flies through, the others follow behind and then more behind those ones.

Wade wraps his arms around his waist and sets his chin on his shoulder as they stand there watching their flight. It's almost hard to see with the amount of dust rising up from the wind and he has to squint through it. Tony, Steve, Rhodey, and Thor are all watching with awe, turning around and seeing them take to the air by the dozens.

Peter's cheeks are wet with tears.

It takes minutes for all of them to fly through the portal.

When the numbers dwindle greatly, Peter looks around and he sees Mota in the distance, planning to take up the rear as Oshia had led them, and there's his pack.

He steps away from Wade and approaches Evangelico.

"Go on, Evangelico. Take care of the others for me." His voice is thick with emotion and he wipes at his tears.

The great red dragon presses his nose to his forehead in goodbye. He nudges at Lintu, Hap, and Tangier to make them follow him as he takes to the skies. Peter waves to them, heart aching. He walks over to Mio next and she whines sadly. He gives her a hug and pets along her scales.

"It's okay, Mio. You'll be happy in Asgard, I promise. You'll never have to hide again." She follows as he pulls back. "You can't stay here. This place can't make you happy, and you'll never be safe. Over there, you'll be with your friends and you'll have time to play and have fun without worrying about danger. Trust me, Mio, I would never let you leave if it wasn't what was best for you."

He tugs Pyrite out of his shirt, trying to hide from view, and places him on Mio's pink head.

"Thank you for taking care of me for so many years. Where you're going, you won't have to try and keep a clumsy Dragon Lord alive and you'll get to be as lazy as you want." Pyrite whines and curls in tightly on her head. "You two go through together, alright? Take care of each other. I love you both so much."

Peter takes a few steps back, this time not giving room for Mio to follow. She shuffles in place, briefly, but he smiles in encouragement and she obeys. Her wings spread out and she joins the line of dragons still flying up to the portal.

He turns, and there's Blue, staring up at him with big sad eyes.

He knows this is what they want, as much as he wants it for them, but they also both know what it means for them.

Peter kneels and reaches out for her. He places her forehead to his and they stay in silence for a few breaths. There's nothing that he can say that she can't feel.

"I don't know when, but I'll see you again someday. I promise. But right now, I need you to be brave, okay? You have to take care of Pyrite and Mio, they're going to need you out there."

She nods her head and she's the one to step back.

He stands and watches with shimmering eyes as she spreads out her wings and follows her pack. She's the last in the line of dragons, only followed by Mota himself.

As Mota flies through, the portal closes.

It blinks out like it had never been there and the field around them is completely empty save for some fallen scales. Peter presses his hands to his mouth as he sobs. His shoulders shake and it feels like his heart's been ripped out of his chest and thrown through that portal with his dragons. Half of his identity is suddenly gone. Can he still be a Dragon Lord, if there are no dragons?

Wade takes him into his arms and he buries his face against his neck.

Thor approaches and says, tone soft, "I will return to Asgard and ensure they settle well. Be strong for them, young Rider. They will be happy."

"Thanks," Wade says for him. Peter doesn't want Thor to see him like this, or any of them, and isn't inclined to pull away to respond.

Thor lifts his hammer and gets pulled into a new portal, taking him back to Asgard.

No one tries to talk to Peter for a few minutes as his sobs slowly begin to quiet down. Wade holds him tightly, eyes trailed over his shoulder staring at the Avengers, daring them to judge. He finds Tony's sympathetic gaze, and at least that's something getting better rather than worse.

Once a little more composed, Peter draws back and wipes his face with his sleeve. He takes a couple shuddering breaths and smiles shakily up at his boyfriend. He's met with a kiss and he's grateful that he hasn't lost everything, at least.

Tony walks up to them and tells him, "Clint should be here soon with the jet." His knuckles brush against the skin beneath his right eye, wiping away what's left of his tears.

"Okay," it comes out choppy and he clears his throat, "Can you guys help me pick up the scales? I don't want anyone else finding them."

They're not dangerous, he's pretty sure, but he's seen enough movies to know not to leave anything behind.

"Whatever you want, kiddo."

Tony hands Steve and Rhodey some empty bags, what had been containing food, and sends them off to collect the fallen scales. He takes his own and with a last glance at his son, activates the suit and goes to the furthest point. It's a thoughtless task, and something he'd normally pay someone to do for him, but it passes the minutes and gives Peter time to process the day's events.

They're due for dinner with May and Pepper tomorrow, but he thinks he'll postpone it for now.

Peter pulls Wade into another hug, not willing to part just yet.

"I'll deny being this cheesy later, but you know, this pain means that you loved them so much. That's what makes you human and what makes you worthy. Aithusa always believed you'd save the dragons one day, and you did, baby. You saved them. They're going to live on because of you."

"If I'm so worthy, why do I feel like I should have kept them to myself?"

"That's the human part," Wade chuckles, "Don't you think May wanted to keep you locked in that apartment forever instead of letting you move in with me? What matters is that you loved them enough to let them go."

"I suppose so." Peter wipes at his face a bit more, taking the handkerchief Wade hands him from one of his twenty-seven pockets gratefully.

"And look at the bright side. We don't have to kick them out whenever we want to have sex anymore."

Peter shocks himself with the sincerity of the laugh that escapes him. He loves Wade for a multitude of reasons, his ability to lighten the mood no matter how inappropriate is certainly top of the list.

"I love you," he says.

"I love you too."

The scales are collected. The jet arrives with their cheery pilot. What's left of their supplies are gathered and brought aboard; Peter keeps the helmet under his arm and slips the sword back in its scabbard at his waist. He hands Clint his quiver and arrows found scattered where the dragons had once been.

"You alright, kiddo?" Tony asks him as they settle in the jet.

He shrugs.

He's not okay, he won't be for a little while. The best friend he's had for thirteen years is gone, all three of his hatchlings and the beings his blood tells him to protect are gone. He's not sure what's left of who he always knew himself to be. He was a dragon rider before he was Spider-Man or Tony Stark's assistant or a college student.

The dragons are safe. They have a new home that will treat them better than Earth ever could have and that's all he's ever wanted for them.

He will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> One last chapter to go, an epilogue! That will be where I beg for comments to know what you all thought of this story :) Hopefully, will be done by this weekend!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the final chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Wade sets it all up; Peter has no idea how and chooses wisely not to ask.

The dragons have been gone for nearly three years. People tell fantastic stories about them as if they hadn't existed in the first place. The various governments are still searching, but Natasha sent them as far from Nepal as possible and no one has any clues about their whereabouts or their accomplices.

Tony's put Peter's riding suit in a glass case in their shared lab.

After graduating from college, he'd come to work at the lab full-time while keeping Spider-Man as a part-time responsibility. At twenty-five, Tony had publicly announced him as the heir to Stark Industries and Pepper is spending most of her time grooming him to take her place when he's ready. Tony's already trying to get him to find a trustworthy friend to pawn the CEO hat to (much as he'd done) so that he could focus his attention on the labs.

Peter wants to get bored with being CEO before he tries to find a way out of it. Tony gives him a couple of years.

Sometimes on quiet days, he'll stand in front of the glass case counting the different scale colours and hoping none are missing. Then there are times he'll get lost in memories.

" _Pew pew!_ " Peter, nine years old, pits Iron Man against a large decorative spider (because irony) and spots a blue egg in a shallow pond.

"Come on, kiddo, meeting awaits. And Pepper always said I'd be a terrible influence on you and here I am reminding _you_ about meetings."

Peter turns from his old outfit and his memories to the real Iron Man, temples greying, smile soft and teasing, and now referred to as 'dad'.

"Sorry, got a bit distracted."

Tony 'tsks' and they head up to their board meeting.

The rest of the scales are locked up until Peter decides what to do with them. He considers adding them to his Spider-Man suit, the heat resistance in them is insane, but he can't bring himself to it, yet.

Then suddenly Wade is in the Tower's elevator with his hands over his eyes, whispering for him not to peek. He feels the press of a ring by his left eye and is warmed by its familiarity. They'd gotten their wedding a year and two days ago.

It was a quiet affair. Wade had no family to bring but invited his friends Weasel and Blind Al, and newer friend Domino that Peter was very fond of. After losing so many loved ones throughout his life, Peter was almost surprised by how many people he could add to the guest list. He had his high school friends Ned and MJ, and then May and Tony as family, with Pepper and Happy. They also invited the Avengers, most of which had been able to attend.

Their anniversary had been celebrated two days ago, he has no idea what this could be about.

He reaches up and places his hands on top of Wade's. Tony's by his right and completely unperturbed because at this point he's grown used to him, and almost seems fond of his son-in-law at times.

"Hey, baby. What's this about?"

"Shh! It's a surprise!" Wade can clearly feel him rolling his eyes beneath his hands.

"Dad?"

"I'm staying out of this."

"We were just talking about a meeting we need to get to."

"Pepper will hold the fort for us."

"Do you really need to cover my eyes while we're in the elevator?" Peter huffs. He's being indignant on purpose to get a rise out of his husband. Yeah. Husband. He still hasn't gotten used to that.

"Yes!"

"Alright, alright," he concedes.

The elevator doors open and they're on the roof, Peter can tell by the wave of fresh air fanning his cheeks. Wade guides him forward several feet. He's curious by the silence. His head tilts to listen closely; there are three heartbeats that aren't his own. Wade behind him, Tony to his right, and a third person.

"You're cheating! I don't have enough hands to cover your eyes and ears."

"It's not _cheating_. Besides, all I know is that there's someone else here with us. Are you going to tell me who, or am I supposed to guess?"

"No guessing! Just... stand still."

Peter crosses his arms over his chest and taps his foot as there's some shuffling around him. He's wearing nice dress pants and a blazer over a t-shirt in preparation of the meeting he apparently wasn't attending and he really wishes he was in something more comfortable for whatever this was going to entail. Wade doesn't do half-assed.

"I'm taking my hands off, but you gotta keep your eyes closed. Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." He's pouting.

Because his darling husband doesn't do half-assed, and his father is an enabler, he knows whatever is happening is going to be unreasonably over the top. He's hoping Pepper managed to get her two cents in.

One of Wade's arms circle his waist and holds him tightly. His hands move down to grip his forearm; he trusts Wade. Mostly. He doesn't like not seeing what's going on around him.

"What the fu-"

There's no warning before his feet aren't on the ground anymore. His eyes are squeezed shut because he promised, and he feels wind rushing past him. His stomach ends up in his throat and its dizzying. In a matter of seconds, they land heavily and he's definitely bruised Wade's arm with his grip.

"What the hell, Wade?!"

Wade lets go of his waist and his hands settle on his shoulders. He turns him in place and Peter can hear the start of words escaping his throat, but he hears something else first.

His eyes fly open because he knows that sound. Familiarly, intimately. It resonates in his soul before it even reaches his ears. Peter takes two steps forward and stares around in pure awe.

There are two separate areas; to his right is a beautiful golden city with a flow of gossiping adults and laughing children. Peter cares more for what is at his left. A large expanse of grass and trees and water and open space as far as he can see. And settled in the branches and lazing in the warm sun and lounging and playing about are his dragons. He looks up and can see them flying overhead; over the populated Asgardian city with no care in the world for danger.

He chokes on his words and tears well up in his eyes.

"You peeked..." Wade says petulantly. He can hear the joy in his tone and doesn't register the words since he knows he isn't upset.

Peter takes another few steps forward towards the dragons and his hands find their way to his mouth. He gulps down air to suppress a sob. He looks over his shoulder and spots Thor and Tony and Wade all smiling at him.

"You..." He doesn't know what to ask at this point. He's doesn't know if he can even think.

"They've missed you, young Rider," Thor says. He's beaming.

A loud roar echoes around them and Peter turns back to the field. A twelve-foot long black dragon flies through the trees, faster than she's ever flown, and he stands still as she tackles him to the ground.

A rough wet tongue licks along his cheek.

"Blue!" He throws his arms around her neck and pulls her down for a hug.

He's laughing and batting away her playful paws when Wade kneels next to them. He pats Blue gently in greeting and smiles down at them.

"I've got something to get ready; I'm leaving you with Irondad. He knows where to take you when you're done here."

Peter pushes himself up on his elbows and kisses him. He doesn't know if he's ever meant his "I love you" more than he does in that instant.

"Love you too, Petey. See you in a bit."

Wade and Thor leave him and Tony by themselves. Peter has even fewer ideas about what he could be doing now since he's already been given everything.

Blue steps off him and he stands, brushing the dirt off his suit. He doesn't care that he's a mess. Tony's steady hand lands on his shoulder and he turns his head to him. He knows he has a stupidly giddy smile on his face and he doesn't care one bit.

"There was no meeting today, was there?"

"Nope."

"How long have you known?"

"You don't wanna know that."

His eyes narrow and after a pause, he shrugs. He has to agree.

"Where are the others?" He asks Blue, excited to see all of his dragons again. She gestures to her back. It's been so long since he's been a dragon rider. He looks at Tony with a challenging grin, "Wanna go for a ride?"

One of his eyebrows rises.

"Not happening, squirt."

"Come on, you've never ridden a dragon before. It's so much fun!"

Peter's surprised that he's this easily persuaded as he sighs, "Fine. But I'll have you know, just because I was a posh rich kid doesn't mean I've ever ridden a horse. If this thing knocks me off, I'm disowning you."

"Deal." Peter readily agrees with a laugh. He throws a leg over her back and holds a hand out for Tony. "Look at all this muscle," he pats her chest, "she can carry both of us no problem. She used to carry me and Wade and he's weighed down by all sorts of things I don't want to know about."

Tony puts on a brave face. He flicks Peter's hand because the dragon is long but not so tall that he can't get on her back without help. He slides in behind Peter and holds onto his waist.

"If you or this thing kills me you'll have to answer to Pepper." Tony won't admit to being scared. Peter knows it anyway.

"Let's go, bud," he tells Blue.

She chirps happily in response. Her wings spread out and with a heavy downward stroke, they're off the ground. Tony's grip tightens. She takes them a couple of kilometers north, beyond some tropical trees and near a lake.

There are dragons all around and beneath them. They can sense him and roar in greeting.

" _Welcome, young Rider._ " Tony's voice rings in his head and he knows it's Mota.

" _It's amazing to be here and see you all again. How is everyone doing?_ "

" _We are all happy here, young Rider. The people are kind, the food is bountiful, the skies are warm. You've given us a wonderful home._ "

" _I'm glad to hear it._ " He is - even more so now getting to see it for himself.

How Wade got into contact with Thor and convinced him to bring them all over to Asgard is a mystery to him.

Before she even lands he can spot his pack waiting for him by the water. They're all there, happy to see him and bright and colourful and older than when he'd last seen them.

When she does land, he helps Tony get off her then follows suit himself. His dad's a bit uneasy on his feet and his hairs windswept, but Peter knows he's feeling the same rush he always does after a ride. He's always assumed it's how Tony feels while in his Iron Man suit.

"Holy shit!"

Mio's _grown_. She's doubled in size and is about as big as an adult elephant now. Pyrite, his lazy pirate of the seven seas, is resting between two of her horns, as small as ever.

She's not quite used to her new size, especially in comparison to Peter who hasn't grown at all (he's not as tall as Tony Stark, how is that even possible? There's little the magazines and fans love more than teasing Tony about his height and now his heir is even shorter). She rushes into him, knocking him down, and presses her face into his chest in greeting.

There will likely be a bruise on his chest in the morning, but he doesn't notice the ache as he greets her in turn.

"Mio! Pyrite! It's so good to see you!"

Pyrite slips off of Mio and tangles into his hair. That one won't be budging until Peter has to go back to Earth.

She lets him stand after a minute of affection and he moves to greet his other packmates. There's Evangelico, Tangier, Maris, Lintu, and Hap, all there for him to hug and pet. They were all fully grown when he'd last seen them and at least there are no more surprises on that front.

He doesn't know how much time he spends there, surrounded by his dragons. Eventually, Blue takes his sleeve between her teeth and tugs on it until he agrees to follow her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Tony's a few steps behind him as they walk beyond some trees into another large clearing. There are several dragons lounging around, and Blue drags him to a hole in the ground.

"Is this..." He can't believe what he's seeing.

He kneels by the hole and peers inside. There's a pink egg with little green spots.

"Mio! You're not a mom already, are you? You're just a baby!"

The dragon in question huffs and sits down pointedly in response. When Peter looks up at the sound of wings, a large pink dragon lands near them. Not Mio's egg then. This is a male dragon, he doesn't know where the female is, but he knows this must be the father by his colouring.

"Dad! Dad! Come look!" Peter gestures for Tony to get closer.

He hesitates, staring at the big dragon staring at them, but he listens to his son and kneels beside him. He spots the egg and tenses.

"Should we be this close? Aren't animals protective of their eggs?" Tony's a genius, but he'll trust Peter to know what's best when it comes to dragons.

"Normally, yes, but I'm the Dragon Lord. One of my responsibilities is taking care of their eggs." He looks up at the father and asks, "Can I hold it?"

There's no verbal response, of course, but he recognizes the volume of his responding huff as agreement. Peter leans down and pulls the egg into his arms. It's warm. It's been many years since he's last held one.

It hits him like a punch in the gut and he presses his forehead to the egg as he cries.

"Pete?" Tony wraps an arm around his shoulders.

"There's another egg, dad. That means... that means they're going to survive. They're going to survive here."

"That's good, isn't it?" Peter doesn't cry often; Tony's not sure how best to console him.

"It's amazing," he says. He holds it against his chest and smiles at his father. "It hurts me to be without them, but they're going to live and... it's worth it, you know?"

"Yeah, I know, kiddo." Tony's fingers curl into his hair and pulls him closer to press a kiss to his temple. "We should get going. We have something to take care of, but Thor said we can stay for a couple of days so you'll have more time to spend with them."

"Alright," Peter agrees. He asks the dragon, "Can I take the egg with me? Wade - my mate - he's never seen one before. I promise to bring it back."

The dragon's head tilts and Peter holds out his hand. The male's nose presses into his palm and is followed by the agreeing huff. The Dragon Lord can be trusted with their eggs.

"You know where we're going, right?" Peter asks Tony.

"Theoretically, yes," Tony shrugs at Peter's unimpressed stare, "Blue knows where to take us."

"Lead the way, girl."

Peter, the egg clutched tightly to his chest, and Tony climb on her back and she takes off towards the city. Looking over his shoulder, Peter can see the rest of his pack following behind them. They're at liberty to do so now.

She flies over people's homes and heads and they only glance up and wave.

There's a tall building in the middle of the city built with golden pillars and white marble. It's Asgard's home for the royals and the throne room, now Thor's since his father's death. She flies through a window near the top of one of the pillars and stops in a bedroom. It's richly decorated with purples and silvers, a king-sized bed to one side and a sitting area with a fireplace to the other and an open doorway leading to a lavish bathroom.

One of Tony's suits, three-piece with a red tie, is spread across the bed.

Blue lays in front of the fireplace and with a puff ignites what's left of the wood inside of it. Tony walks up to the bed and takes the clothing in his arms.

"I believe your outfit's in there." Tony points to a wardrobe made of mahogany (Peter thinks, he's not sure if the trees in Asgard are the same as Earth).

"Promise me it's not a wedding dress."

Tony laughs and shakes his head, "I promise I managed to get that idea out of his head. I'll leave you to it."

He slips into the bathroom to change and Peter cautiously approaches the wardrobe. He looks to Blue for comfort. The other dragons haven't followed them into the room, other than Pyrite still clinging to his hair, and he wonders where they've gone.

Peter gently sets the egg on the bed where Tony's suit had been.

Wade knows he would have been perfectly content with getting to see his dragons and maybe a picnic. He's a little excited to see what's coming. He spins the simple gold ring on his left hand and takes a deep breath. His hands reach out and he pulls open the wardrobe doors.

It's all Wade. The black leather riding boots with intricate gold ink etched into the sides, the form-fitting black tights, the soft black undershirt. Mostly, it's the overcoat that gives it away. When he slips it on, it reaches his knees. It ties at the waist with a thick leather belt and crosses across his chest. It's white, a contrast to the rest of his ensemble, and there are designs around the sleeves, the collar, and at its hem.

They're stitched in with different threads painted out of colours he recognizes. The patterns themselves aren't anything in particular, different loops and twists, sometimes looking like flowers. Maris' murky green melds with Hap's forest green, Pyrite's silver loops into Evangelico's red. He wonders how depleted his scale stash is back home.

With Aithusa's passing, there's no more gold, but Wade improvised by using Tangier's sandy scales. He's stitched a dragon into the back of the coat with it, outlined with a familiar inky black with two dots for eyes. The dragon is curled into a circle, the edge of its tail nearing its head. It reminds him of the sleeping silver dragon in his hair.

To his wedding, he'd worn a black tuxedo with a maroon tie and cummerbund. Tony and Ned had stood behind him as his best man and groomsmen. Peter had been happy to let Wade wear whatever he wanted, but he'd chosen a grey suit with a matching maroon bowtie. May had been his maid of honour in a beautiful dress matching their colour scheme and he'd somehow convinced Natasha to be in their wedding party too.

Wade had claimed the dress would match her hair. She'd agreed because, as Peter had smugly known, they've all grown to like Wade and his exuberant ways. (It had been hilarious seeing her walk down the aisle with her arm linked with Ned's, who looked about ready to faint.)

The white was the tell, of course, as that was neither of their colours.

He turns to Blue, "Are you going to be my maid of honour?"

She doesn't understand the term, as weddings weren't in teenage Peter's interests, but she nods in excitement none the less.

He stares at himself in the mirror set atop a dresser and admires his husband's work.

"Seems my son-in-law has an eye for fashion. I'm thinking of having him design my next suit," Tony says, exiting the bathroom.

"Ex- _cuse_ you," Peter says in fake indignation since he'd helped Tony with the last few iterations of the Iron Man suit. He's smiling; it's hard not to.

Wade had created his Deadpool outfit, Peter knew that, but he also loved sweatpants and t-shirts with Bea Arthur's face on them. This is a talent he fully intends to encourage after today.

"You ready?" Tony, of course, always looks handsome in dressy clothing even without his typical band t-shirt hiding behind the blazer.

"Am I getting married again? I don't remember my vows by heart anymore."

He remembers Wade's teary, " _You make me happy to be me._ "

He really wants to kiss his husband right now.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. Wade wanted zero effort on your part."

Peter shuffles in place for a second and asks hesitantly, "He didn't do anything stupid to make this happen, did he?"

"No, no. He knows you wouldn't want that. Thor was pretty accommodating; that whole 'worthy' business means a lot around these parts."

"What if I'm not worthy anymore?"

"I don't think it works that way, and even if it does, I'd still be willing to bet on you, Pete." Tony walks up to him and places his hands on his shoulders, "You ready to get going?"

"I think so," Peter says.

He'd said the same thing at his wedding. Not from any existing doubt about his love for Wade, but from years of media conditioning that marriage was the end-all-be-all of a relationship. After getting married, he realized that his relationship would only be as different as he wanted it to be.

Peter walks over to the bed and picks up the egg, "Do you think I can bring it with me?"

"I don't see a problem with that," Tony says with an amused smile.

"Awesome!" He goes to Blue next, "Is she coming with us?"

"Probably best if she goes through the outside," Tony says. She's too wide for the doorway and couldn't follow them easily.

Peter gives her a one-armed hug, "See you soon."

He follows Tony out of the room with the egg in his arms. There's a spiraling staircase to take them to the main floor where they're met by a smiling Rhodey.

Peter's eyes widen and he smiles brightly, "What are you doing here?!"

"I was invited," he says simply. "Nice egg."

When Peter teams up with Rhodey to tease Tony, he'll call Tony 'boss' or 'Mr. Stark' to get on his nerves, but when he decides to team up with his dad to annoy Rhodey, he has to go with 'Uncle Rhodey' in the most childish tone he can muster. He doesn't say it out loud, but he's always 'Uncle Rhodey' in his mind. He's happy he's here.

There are only two people he knows that love Tony as much as he does, and that would be his wife and best friend. He doesn't call Pepper 'mom', but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the utmost love and respect for her. He wouldn't want anyone else, even Tony, preparing him to take over a business and being there to calm every insecurity he can think of.

"Thanks. Wanna be godfather?" Peter responds cheekily.

Rhodey laughs and doesn't take the bait. "Let's go, Spider-Kid."

They walk down a couple of hallways; he thinks they must be nearing the throne room but he can't be certain. At the end of a hallway standing in front of a set of double doors is his husband. His Wade. His Deadpool.

"Petey!" Wade greets him cheerfully. He throws his arms around him and kisses him warmly. "I missed you."

Wade's in his grey suit again. He's always thought no one but the 'dragon whisperer' should use the dragon scales for anything. There is, however, a small golden dragon sewn in the front of his breast pocket.

"Missed you too," Peter says gently. He holds up the egg, "Look what I found!"

"Holy shit!" Wade immediately understands its importance. His palm presses against the warm shell, "Is this Mio's?"

"I thought the same thing! But no, it's another dragon's," Peter explains.

"So Tony's not a great-grandpa?"

Peter laughs, "No, not yet."

He holds the egg out so that Wade can take it into his hands. His runs his fingers over the markings and is as obviously excited as Peter had been.

Watching him, Peter feels a warmth spread from his toes to his nose, "Wade, I want a baby."

It's unexpected and Wade trips over his words. He manages, "What?"

Tony intercepts immediately, "You get to have a baby when you don't live off an allowance."

Peter looks properly chagrined.

After being publicly named heir of Stark Industries, he's not really employed there. He works in R&D, goes to meetings and makes decisions for the business, creates things that get marketed for the public, but Tony doesn't trust him with a proper salary.

Peter has proven himself to be spectacularly horrible with money, no matter how much or how little he has. Wade's no better. At this point, Tony has Friday transfer just enough money into his bank account to live off of.

If given access to the billions of dollars in Tony's name, he knows he'd bring it to zero by the end of a week. Somehow, some way. If it's not eating take-out four meals a day, it's buying tech that Tony would happily supply for free.

The rest, Peter doesn't even know where it goes. He looks at his bank account and suddenly he's in negatives.

"That's not fair, you'd love to be a grandpa."

"When you're ready," Tony says, voice stern.

"We're still young, Petey. Irondad became a dad in his fourties," Wade finds his words.

Peter huffs and doesn't press it. He'll be bringing this up as soon as they get back home.

"So what's this all about then? You do know we're already married, right?"

"Like I'd forget the best day of my life. No, this is different. Let's get going, everyone's waiting." Wade hands the egg to Rhodey and then loops his arm with Peter's.

"Wait, wait. Who's everyone?"

Wade doesn't answer. They step through a set of doors that leads to a large open space. The floors are made of marble and there are several golden pillars, but there are also no windows and the room glows gold from the afternoon sun.

It's the throne room; there's a singular fancy chair at the end of a long walkway. Thor is standing in front of it, dressed in his armour with his hammer at his feet. Next to him is the everyone Wade had referred to.

It's mostly the Avengers; Natasha, Steve, Sam, Clint, Vision, and Wanda. Next to Thor is May, looking as beautiful as she did a year ago in her red dress. Peter zeroes in on her, surprised to see her there.

The Avengers and Thor are on the same team, them being here makes sense; May is his perfectly mundane aunt.

"May!" Wade let's go of his arm so he can go to her, giving her a tight hug.

"Hey, sweetie. Happy anniversary."

"Thanks, May," Peter says.

"So... these are your dragons, huh?" May gestures over his shoulder but her eyes are on his hair where Pyrite it sleeping.

The room is big enough to accommodate even the biggest of his pack. They're all sitting in front of the humans, lined like an audience. Blue has a bowtie around her neck and preens under his gaze. There are a few Asgardians standing right outside of the room, watching with curiousity. It's the most informal formal event he's had the pleasure of partaking in.

After losing his dragons three years ago, he hadn't been able to pull himself out of his depression as smoothly as he'd have liked. May had seen the change in his attitude and he'd cried his heart out in her lap as he finally told her everything he hadn't been able to before. His babies were safe, what harm could it do?

She's never seen one in person before, but as a testament to her bravery, she's calm and determined.

"These are my babies," he agrees.

Her smile is tense, but he can understand the difficulty of the situation. She draws back until she stands next to Thor.

Wade takes his hand and guides him until they're standing in front of the smiling god. Tony and Rhodey, with the pink egg in his arms, fall in on either side of them with the Avengers spread out. He partially understands what's happening, but not completely.

In Thor's hands is a white stretch of fabric. His lips part and he says with a smile, "Welcome, Peter Starkson, Dragon Rider."

"Hi," he says, voice soft.

Wade stands in front of him, much as he'd done at their wedding, and he takes his hands in his. He's smiling at him and he can't help but smile in return.

"Your mate wanted to hold a wedding here for you in front of your dragons, that you may be with them and they with you during such a wondrous occasion, and I informed him of an older tradition here in Asgard that we call our handfasting ceremony. Being able to wield Mjolnir means you are worthy of our ceremonies, so I ask you here today, Peter, if you would like to proceed with an official Asgardian handfasting ceremony between yourself and Wade Wilson?"

"Yes, of course," Peter says without needing to think twice.

The love he has for the man in front of his is unquestionable; with or without this elaborate scheme. He knows for a fact there is no one else in the world who can fulfill him as much as Wade does. He drives him a little mad sometimes, but can also make him smile when he least wants to and brighten his darkest days. He can fill his emptiest time with laughter and jokes.

He doesn't know what this is, but being able to stand in front of his dragons with his husband is more than he could have ever asked for.

His eyes meet Blue's and he can feel her joy. Her and Pyrite had been there to hear his concerns.

" _I've got a date with Deadpool! What the hell was I thinking?_ "

" _I think I love him._ "

" _They say you should be with a few people to find out what you like, but what if I've already found him? I can't tell if I'm lucky or naive._ "

The first few months had been especially rough. Tony hated his boyfriend, May tried to tolerate him. They didn't understand him as Peter did. Now they stand beside them with smiles and love.

"Hold your left hands together, " Thor instructs. They obey, their matching rings pressed together. He wraps the white cloth around their hands three times.

It's quick and it's sudden and he had no idea to prepare for this, but all he's asked to respond with is whether he agrees or not to love this man forever. It's hardly a question.

"I do," he says sincerely.

The dragons roar with joy.

They tend to have one mate, and one mate only, for their lives. Peter hopes to live on that ideal with Wade.

With the white ribbon around their hands, he moves to his tiptoes to press a loving kiss to his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end folks. Thank you for being with me through this journey.
> 
> I would love to hear your final thoughts and feelings about this story. It's been an absolute pleasure reading your comments and knowing that this story touched you in some way or another.
> 
> I already have an idea for another Irondad story, so stay tuned if you're interested!
> 
> PS: The access code 7001 used earlier on in the story is Tony and Peter's years of birth together :P (1970 and 2001).

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are! The intro out of the way. Obviously, I stole the Dragon Lord concept from the Merlin TV show, though made some mild changes. The beauty of fanfiction.
> 
> I pretty much have this story planned out, so expect updates fairly regularly! If you've read my other stuff you may be used to that. If not, shameless plug.
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this new story, I'd love to hear from you!


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